In perfect conditions, rounds seven and eight of the Australian Enduro Championships were contested at Casterton in Victoria. The sandy based surface combined with some lead up rain and cool temperatures, made for ideal conditions for the 440 riders that entered the weekend.

Saturday saw the Cross-Country format in play where riders slugged it out for three hours of continuous racing and then just as the heart rates got back to normal, they were back at it again on Sunday doing Sprints and pushing the heart rates back into the red.

And while the ShopYamaha Team battled on all weekend and showed plenty of positive signs, with the championship in the business end of the season, it's time for Ruprecht and Dennett to make their move in the championship chase. 

Wil Ruprecht finished with two good days of racing and showed some improvement in the sandy conditions since the previous round. Ruprecht finished in fifth in the Pro Enduro class, third in the E1 division and then backed that up with fourth in Pro Enduro on Sunday and second in the E1 division.

Ruprecht matched the pace of the leaders at times over the weekend and showed that he hadn’t sat on his hands in the break between the rounds. He is more than aware that sand riding isn’t his strong suit, but he is trending in the right direction and will continue to make grounds on the leaders.

“I have mixed emotions about the weekend,” Ruprecht begins. “The upside is my pace and sand riding in general is better and I’m consistently around the mark of the best guys in the sand. “The negative is that I come to every round with the goal to win and more importantly at the moment, make ground up in the championship.

“Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to do that but we stuck at it all weekend and the team did a great job. We made a suspension change after Saturday and that was a step in the right direction so I know the guys won’t quit and we will keep swinging until the final metre of the final test.”

One rider who does like the sandy conditions is Will Dennett. He gels well with the shifting surface and again on the weekend showed plenty of pace. Even with a five-minute penalty on Saturday, he was able to finish seventh in Pro Enduro, fourth in E2 and then with a sluggish start on Sunday morning, he found some momentum to charge home in fifth for Pro Enduro and third in E2.

“The penalty on Saturday cost me and it was my fault, so I have to cop that one on the chin, but for the most part, I felt my riding was good all weekend. Both days my times and speed were very competitive, and the results probably don’t show just how tight it was in many of the tests.

“So for me, it’s about taking the positives from the weekend and that the gap between myself and the leaders is getting smaller. We move onto Hattah next, and I think I have a good shot at it as the bike and the team are working great and I believe I can match it with anyone in the sand,” Dennett said.

Team manager, AJ Roberts, echoes the sentiments of his riders after a weekend that promised so much.

“It was a good and bad weekend all at the same time and the results could have and should have been better. At times, both riders were awesome, but we just couldn’t translate that into a round result on either day.

“I share their frustration but believe both will continue to work hard and the results will swing in our favour at the coming AEC rounds.”

The ShopYamaha Off Road Team will tackle the Hattah Desert race on July 12-13 before slotting back into AEC mode for rounds nine and ten of the championship at Kyogle on September 13-14.