The ShopYamaha off Road duo of Wil Ruprecht and Maximus Purvis overcame cold, wet, and soggy conditions to record another successful weekend of enduro racing as they contested rounds seven and eight of the Australian Enduro Championship at Casterton in Victoria.
The weekend format saw a three-hour Cross-Country style race on the Saturday and then everyone returns on Sunday for a series of sprints tests to finish of the weekend and challenge the riders and teams. On top of that, the recent wet weather in the region had the majority of the course in prime condition, but there was more than the odd bog hole or swamp to navigate and really make the riders earn their results. The rumour was that Wil Ruprecht can’t ride sand. He admits it’s not his strong point and had struggled to get his best results in the shifting surface last year, but he got to work during the off season and a long, three hour event raced predominantly in sand was the perfect way to put any doubts to bed.
A massive field roared and then splashed their way off into the Victorian countryside with Ruprecht right near the front. He sat comfortably inside the top three in the opening exchanges and absorbed the best shots from his rivals before making his move. He dropped the fastest lap of the event on lap two and moved to the front before small mistake cost him some positions on lap three.
Not fazed, he charged again and was back in the lead by lap four and then went on to win the race in 2.49.54, just over 20 seconds ahead of his rivals and make it seven round wins from seven starts and keep his 2026 streak alive.
Sunday dawned and the riders faced seven sprint tests on a loop just under five minutes to complete. The sheer volume of bikes meant it was rough and nasty, but Ruprecht was determined to keep the momentum going.
He again started well and was engaged in a day long battle with Lyndon Snodgrass, who returned from the US to contest the event. Ruprecht kept things close all day, but in the final test, he had a spectacular fall that cost him valuable time and he and his machine parted ways at high speed. Ruprecht quickly scrambled to his feet and rejoined but had lost considerable time.
He finished the day second in the E2 division and fourth in Pro Enduro but still sees the weekend as a success.
“The team and I worked hard to improve in sand as it was a weakness of ours last year. Growing up on the NSW Central Coast and racing in Europe means I didn’t get exposed to it a lot but with the at least two of the AEC weekends in sand and Hattah, it was something I needed to work on,” Ruprecht begins. “I was confident I was better and I knew we had the bike in a good place, but you are never sure what the competition has done until we start racing.
“But pleasantly surprised and I felt rewarded to get the results we did on the weekend. The work we put in was evident and this time last year I lost points in the championship while this year I gained points, so it’s been a satisfying weekend and despite feeling pretty sore and beat up now, glad to walk away with a few more points gap in the championship,” Ruprecht ends.
The weekend also marked a huge turnaround in form for Maximus Purvis. The motocross specialist has been struggling in the dry and tight confines of the previous rounds but the moment he set foot on the Casterton property and dug his heels into the dirt, he knew he was in for a better weekend.
But it didn’t come without the usual Purvis chaos. After getting a great start in the Cross Country and snatching the lead in the E1 class, Purvis had an altercation with some wildlife that knocked him from his bike and a long way down the field before he collected himself and remounted.
The Kiwi then regrouped, got himself back on track and started the long haul back just hoping to score points. He did more than that and despite no peak on his helmet, roost flying in his face, after three hours of racing, Purvis made it back to sixth in Pro Enduro and second in E1, in a heroic ride.
Then on Sunday, he stayed clear of the animals, avoided the roost and trees and kept his bike on two wheels and showed he is more than capable of riding off road at the highest level.
He burst through to take the round win in E1 and also finished third for the day in Pro Enduro, the highest position and E1 rider has finished this year.
“It’s been a frustrating start to the year for me, and I feel for the team as they have been trying everything to get me up front, but it just wasn’t happening. So, its nice to get a result that everyone can be happy with and proud of and leave here in a better mood than I have done for the first few rounds.
“I like riding these conditions and once we got past the really wet stuff at the start, it was lot of fun out there. It was busy and the track got rough but I loved it and could have just kept riding it was so much fun.
“Thanks to AJ and the team for their patience this year, but hopefully now we are back where we need to be and results like this can continue for the rest of the year.”
Next event on the calendar for the ShopYamaha Off road team is the biggest one of the year, the Hattah Desert race. Then its back to AEC mode for the final two weekends of the year in NSW and SA.
