AEC Wrap from Casterton
Things were juicy under foot at rounds seven and eight of the Australian Enduro Championship where over 400 riders lined up for the two day event that had competitors racing a gruelling multi-houred Cross Country event on Saturday before returning on Sunday for a day of Sprint tests.
The weather was great across the weekend but rain prior to the event left sections of the Casterton property more then moist and there was plenty of aquaplaning as riders charged off into the distance. But come Sunday, the conditions, despite being rough, were great and riders enjoyed the challenging weekend of racing.
To view the Yamaha BLU CRU Round Review:
As previously released, the Shopyamaha Of Road team enjoyed a successful weekend with Wil Ruprecht claiming Pro Enduro and Class victories on Saturday and Maximus Purvis returning to form to stand on the E1 podium on both days, but there was plenty more BLU CRU success from the weekend.
E1
Yamaha riders all but dominated the podium in the E1 division over the weekend. Cooper Sheidow (Yamaha BLU CRU Support) took the class honours on Saturday with an impressive performance to win by just over a minute from Maximus Purvis in second and Jeremy Carpentier 9JGR Yamaha) in third.
On Sunday, Purvis turned the tables to take the win over Sheidow while Carpentier had some issues that saw him round out the day in ninth.
Sheidow continues to lead the E1 championship, increasing his lead after the Casterton weekend. Carpentier is well in contention as the series moves into the final four rounds while Purvis is gathering momentum in a real hurry.
EW
The Yamaha women were out in force on the weekend and like their E1 counterparts, took up the lions-share of the podium over the weekend. The JGR Yamaha team welcomed Rachael Archer at Casterton as she is joining the team for the remainder of the year. Archer, originally from New Zealand, has been racing in the US for the past few years but decide to return back to Australia and just nine weeks after giving birth, was back on the racetrack.
It was a successful return to action for Archer who took out the EW class each day as she battled with team boss, Jess Gardiner. Archer was able to get up to speed quickly, limit the mistakes on the technical course and keep herself out of trouble to record and well-earned double victory.
Gardiner slotted into second on both days. Gardiner is open about her lack of confidence in the sand and admits it’s not her favourite surface for racing but she still managed to stand on the podium both days and extend her lead in the EW championship.
Madi Simpson got off to a slow start on Saturday and came home in fifth after an eventful day, but regrouped overnight and rebounded with a third in the sprints format.
In the Junior girls division, Lorna Lock continued on her merry way with another dominate performance on the weekend. Lock won both days on her YZ85 and continues to set the pace in the JG class.
Harley Hutton is putting together a decent year of racing and took the honours in the J4 class on his YZ250F on both days. Since stepping up to the 250cc machine, Hutton has adapted well and been the man to beat in this years J4 class.
Marcus Nowland had a tough weekend, marred with crashes. He was on track for a podium in the EJ class (U19) on Saturday before a last lap fall saw him damage the start button on his machine and he dropped several places. He then came home fifth on Sunday.
The next event on the AEC calendar is at Kempsey for rounds nine and ten of the championship, but many riders will now head to Hattah for the high-profile desert race on July 4-5.
AMA MX
It was a productive weekend for the ANZAC riders at round four of the AMA Pro Motocross Championship at High Point Raceway with Cole Davies deaminating the 250cc class with a 1-1 result and Kayden Minear stepping up for his best finish with a fifth place finish for the round.
Davies, who is often looked at as a supercross specialist has shown he is more than happy to take it outside and get his hands dirty. He took control of proceedings over the weekend at High Point and won both motos in convincing fashion. A 1-1 day at this level is a highlight of any rider’s career and by the weekend, Davies is showing he is a legitimate contender in the 250cc championship as he now sits in fourth place, just 17 from the series leader.
And what about Kayden Minear? Minear has had breakout rides in the US over the last couple of years, but not at this level and not in this class. Minear finished the day in fifth place with 10-3 results and had to earn every single position on the track.
The final moto third saw him come under constant attack from Jo Shimoda in the final stages, but Minear kept his composure and kept digging all the way to the finish to record a career best moto finish and move himself to seventh in the 250cc championship.
SSMX Wrap
Round four of the Queensland Sunshine State Motocross Championship was run at Echo Valley in Toowoomba with several of the GYTR Yamaha Junior Racing team riders on hand. The track was in good shape and the expected rain for the weekend held off long enough to keep conditions prime.
Ollie Threfgold made the trip up from South Australia and was rewarded with the class win in the 7-9 years 65cc. Thredgold finished the day with 2-1 results with the win in the final moto giving him the round victory on countback.
Archie Banchette also contested the 7-9 years 65cc class and came home in fourth for the day with 3-7 results.
Hudson Franics has his final hit out before jetting off to Europe next week to race the World Junior Motocross Championships. Franics finished with 2-2 results to claim second in the 10-12 years 65cc class. He also finished fifth in the 9-11 years 85cc with 3-7 moto scores.
Our Japanese guest, Souya Nakajima also decided to compete with an off weekend from the ProMX schedule. Nakajima has been a busy man since arrive in Australia, contesting all the rounds of the ProMX and the SSMX in order to fast track his racing development.
he finished with a 5-1 result to claim third on the day. He crashed twice in the opening moto but was able to settle for race two and claim victory. He now leads the MX2 class with one round remaining in the series.
The fifth and final round of the 2026 Australian Superbike Championship is on this weekend at Queensland Raceway, just west of Brisbane. The final round of the shortened 2026 series makes way for a change of season for the ASBK as it will move to a summer series starting in October and finishing in March each season.
Headlining the Yamaha attack at the final round will be Mike Jones and JJ Nahlous from the Yamaha Racing Team as well as Cameron Dunker from the Blue Marlin Pools team.
Dunker holds down third in the championship after four rounds and will be looking to finish off the season strongly and maintain his podium position in the series.
Mike Jones bounced back to form at the Morgan Park round last month, finishing in second place and showing good signs. He is a local favourite at Queensland Raceway and would like nothing more than to finish the season with a round victory at his home track.
JJ Nahlous is back from his European adventure and ready to get amongst it this weekend. Nahlous has had flashes of brilliance this year and with QR being a track he likes, expect the young gun to be in contention all weekend.
In the 600cc Supersport class, Valentino Knezovic leads fellow Yamaha rider, Jake Farnsworth into the final round. Knezovic doesn’t need any heroics as he is a reasonable points gap, and some mature racing should see him clench the championship but you never know in this category.
Also on track will be the R3 Cup and the Oceania Junior Cup on R15 machines in a packed race schedule.
On track action starts on Friday, with the main races on Sunday.