ShopYamaha Off Road star, Wil Ruprecht and JGR team leader, Jess Gardiner, are closing in on the 2026 Australian Enduro Championship after a successful weekend of racing at the penultimate round of the series at Kempsey, over the weekend.
In dry and dusty conditions, Ruprecht, was businesslike in the way he went about the weekend, methodically working his way through both days to now have the Pro Enduro and E2 division championship well within his grasp.Ruprecht dominated on Saturday, winning almost every test on his way to a double round victory. He took the Pro Enduro win by nearly 30 seconds over his nearest rival in a near faultless performance as well as control proceedings in the E2 (450cc) class to make it a good day for the former world champion.
He then returned on Sunday and despite a change of test loop, Ruprecht again went about his business, this time taking second on Pro Enduro and winning the E2 division to set up a very handy points buffer in both classes with just two rounds remaining in September.
“It was good weekend all round and has me well placed with the final two rounds to come,” Ruprecht explains. “I wanted to continue to build on my points lead and get as many points up as I can, as you never know what can happen in the final rounds. Jye and Korey are both riding well, we can’t control the conditions we race or what happens around us, so for me, this weekend was about keeping the momentum going and making the most of any points available.
“The team did a great job again and the bike worked well in tricky conditions. When its that dry, traction is hard to find and the dust means vision can be an issue, so you really have to trust your bike is set up well and will handle anything that comes your way.
“It’s a month until the next round so still work to do plenty of preparation to finish the championship off strongly,” Ruprecht signs off.
With teammate Maximus Purvis sidelined with injury, there was a plethora of Yamaha riders ready to fly the flag in the E1 (250cc) class. Cooper Sheidow, Jeremy Carpentier and Jett Yarnold, who has just returned to racing after a knee injury, all wanted to stand on the top step of the podium and the three of them produced some tight and intense racing over the two days.
Jeremy Carpentier took the win on Saturday, over Sheidow with Yarnold in third but then the top two were reversed on Sunday with Sheidow getting the upper hand over Carpentier and Yarnold again in third.
Yarnold performed exceptionally well in his return to racing after knee surgery and while he pulled up sore at the end of the weekend, to get on the podium in the E1 class both days and inside the top 10 Outright is a solid achievement.
Sheidow now holds a 30-point lead in the championship, with Carpentier in second. There are 50 points on over at the final weekend so it will take a winning weekend from Carpentier and some major intervention to stop Sheidow winning another E1 crown.
Jess Gardiner is on the verge of winning another Women’s championship with two rounds to go. Gardiner finished the weekend with 1-3 results to carry an 18-point lead into the final weekend of racing in South Australia.
Gardiner faced formidable opposition over the weekend in the form of former student, Danielle McDonald, who has spent the last month in Australia, freshening up for her return to the US and a big end to the year.
McDonald led early but a fall that saw her damage a front brake allowed Gardiner to sneak by and take the round win. Then on Sunday, McDonald ran away from the field, while Gardiner and Madi Simpson fought over the final two spots on the podium. Simpson managed to take second for the round and keep the points gap to under 20 to Gardiner.
“I made a lot of silly mistakes over the weekend, but it wasn’t easy with the dry and rutted conditions,” Gardiner offers. “I got lucky when Danielle had an issue but had some great battles with her and Madi all weekend.
“It was also pretty cool that the podium on Sunday was the Australian Women’s ISDE team this year. We are all riding well and hopefully we can keep that going for the final rounds and then into the ISDE,” she said.
The final weekend of the Australian Enduro takes place in South Australia on September 5 and 6. Yamaha Racing are in a position to win as many as six class championships as well as Pro Enduro so the riders and teams will continue to work hard behind the scenes right until the very end.
AEC Results
-
AEC Results
Rd 9
Pro Enduro
1st Wil Ruprecht – E2
2nd Jye Dickson – E2
3rd Korey McMahon - E3
4th Kogan Lock – E2
5th Jeremy Carpentier – E1
6th Cooper Sheidow – E1
7th Broc Grabham – E2
8th Jett Yarnold – E1
9th Luke Chellas – E1
10th Oliver Paterno – E2
E1
1st Jeremy Carpentier – (Yamaha)
2nd Cooper Sheidow – (Yamaha)
3rd Jett Yarnold – (Yamaha)
E2
1st Wil Ruprecht – (Yamaha)
2nd Jye Dickson
3rd Kogan Lock
EW
1st Jess Gardiner – (Yamaha)
2nd Madi Simpson – (Yamaha)
3rd Madison Healey
Rd 10
Pro Enduro
1st Korey McMahon – E3
2nd Wil Ruprecht – E2
3rd Jye Dickson – E2
4th Cooper Sheidow – E1
5th Jeremy Carpentier – E1
6th Broc Grabham – E2
7th Will McInnes – E2
8th Kogan Lock – E2
9th Jett Yarnold – E1
10th Brock Nichols – E2
E1
1st Cooper Sheidow (Yamaha)
2nd Jeremy Carpentier (Yamaha)
3rd Jett Yarnold (Yamaha)
E2
1st Wil Ruprecht (Yamaha)
2nd Jye Dickson
3rd Will McInnes
EW
1st Danielle McDonald (Yamaha)
2nd Madi Simpson (Yamaha)
3rd Jess Gardiner (Yamaha)
AEC Championship Standings
Pro Enduro
1st Wil Ruprecht - 215
2nd Korey McMahon – 196
3rd Jye Dickson – 163
4th Cooper Sheidow – 147
5th Kogan Lock – 132
6th Jeremy Carpentier – 120
7th Max Midwinter – 93
8th Will McInnes – 78
9th Oliver Paterno – 75
10th Broc Grabham - 74
E1
1st Cooper Sheidow- 211
2nd Jeremy Carpentier - 182
3rd Stefan Granquist - 142
E2
1st Wil Ruprecht - 222
2nd Kogan Lock - 174
3rd Jye Dickson - 172
EW
1st Jess Gardiner - 211
2nd Madi Simpson - 193
3rd Madison Healey - 161