The Motul Pirelli Sherco Team has wound up a successful final round of the Australian Off-Road Championship at Penshurts in southwest Victoria. Flood conditions caused the picturesque venue to become a quagmire but Sherco riders shone through with multiple podium placings.
Motul Pirelli Sherco Factory Team rider Wil Ruprecht took out the Under-19 class Championship aboard his Motul Pirelli Sherco 450SEF-R but he wasn’t the lone Sherco rider on the podium. Baylee Davies chalked up 2nd on Saturday in the E1 class. The Sherco 250SEF-R proving to be a powerful option in the small-bore class. Davies placed 5th at the final round to secure fifth in the E1 class for the Championship.
Derek Grundy placed 2nd in the Masters Class on Saturday and again on Sunday which secured the Tasmanian legend 2nd overall for the Championship. This is an outstanding result considering the Tasmanian rider was forced to sit on the sidelines missing four rounds of the Championship with injury.
Justin Carafa was finally back in form after a reoccurring thumb injury held him on the sidelines for much of the season. Carafa was 10th outright on Saturday and 13th on Sunday. Although Carafa missed four rounds of the Championship with a thumb injury he still claimed 6th in the E2 class for the season.
Jai Wedlock continued to find more speed as the Championship reached the final rounds. The Motul Pirelli Sherco Academy Team rider finished the Championship with 7th place in the EJ class for riders under-19 years.
“It was a fantastic season for us,” said Motul Pirelli Sherco Team coordinator Dave Suter. “The boys all rode well through a range of tough conditions. We’ve had our struggles, more so than any other team I can remember but our boys all pitched in to make it count. I’m proud to work on this Team and prove the Sherco bikes are as good, if not better than any other bike out there.”
The Veterans class was wrapped up a round early by Sherco rider Bjorn Osborne. The Sherco 450SEF-R rider amassed a large points lead early in the season and cruised home to the Championship for riders 35-44 years. Third place in the Veterans class went to Kurt Broomhall from Tasmania who was mounted aboard a Sherco 300SEF-R.
“It was fantastic to see two Veterans class riders on the podium for Sherco,” stated Sherco Australia’s Stephen Tuff. “It’s really rewarding for us to see riders across a wide range of classes on a varied range of Sherco machinery. And to get two riders on the podium in one class is great. It proves Sherco is now an established brand of enduro bike and podium places at Australian Championship level proves the bikes are top class.”
