Wil Ruprecht, made a triumphant return to racing in Australia after five years, with an impressive opening round victory on Saturday. With the dry conditions in the area, the Cross-Country format was scrapped, and in its place was a Sprint style of racing that saw Ruprecht come out on top with an eight second gap over Milner in the Pro Enduro class and the E2 division (450cc).
Ruprecht built his lead early in the day and then was able to manage it in the hot and steamy conditions as the afternoon wore on and made his return to Australia a memorable one.
Sunday saw the tables turned as the duo elevated themselves from the rest of the pack and traded test wins throughout the day. This time it was Milner who came out on top with a three second victory margin, but Ruprecht has thrown out the challenge to the current champ and this one already looks like it’s going down to the wire.
“The weekend was good for me and a great way to start the championship,” Ruprecht begins. “There were a few nerves to start the weekend and some refamiliarization to racing here in Australia and how things are run, but all up, it was a good weekend, and I feel we are well placed to have a good crack at the championship.
“It was also the first weekend with the ShopYamaha team and things went well. While, we have spent time together testing, racing is always a more intense environment, but everything went well, the bike was good on both days and I leave here pretty confident about where we are at and that we can still improve,” Ruprecht ends.
Will Dennett has made some strides forward over the off season and while on paper the results might be similar to 2024, the distance between himself and the leaders has closed significantly.
Dennett finished the weekend with 3-4 finishes in the E2 class and 3-4 Outright in a classy performance. The majority of the tests saw Dennett within a handful of seconds of his teammate and riding with plenty of speed and intensity has he tries to challenge himself to ran at the front of the pack.
“I worked pretty hard over the off-season with my technique on the bike as well as my fitness so to see it make a difference at the first round of the year is rewarding. I still have a bit to go to be right at the front and a little more consistency but now I feel like I can ride that pace a little more comfortably and on a variety of different surfaces.
“The bike was awesome all weekend so not need for changes there. I will continue to put in the work leading up to the next round and hopefully I can keep closing the gap on the guys up the front as the championship progresses.”
Rounds three and four of the championship are set down for April 5-6 but a change of venue has been announced with Rawson, in Victoria now hosting.
