2025 AEC KICKS OFF IN KEMPSEY

After a pre-season full of intrigue, the 2025 Yamaha Australian Enduro Championship presented by MXstore begins in Kempsey this weekend on March 1-2.

Undoubtedly, the biggest news over the summer was that 2022 world enduro champion Wil Ruprecht would be returning home, replacing the international-bound Kyron Bacon in the ShopYamaha Off Road Racing Team alongside Will Dennett.

Not only was the announcement a shot in the arm for the rebranded AusEnduro Championship, but the extra spice was that Ruprecht would be competing against defending E2 champion and 2018 International Six Days Enduro individual winner Daniel Milner (DM31 KTM Racing Team) in a mouth-watering battle.

Kempsey’s opening sprint round on Saturday will provide the first tantalising sample of how the rivalry will transpire, while the likes of Dennett, Andy Wilksch (Beta Australia Offroad Team) and Tom Buxton (GASGAS Australia) will be doing their best to be the ultimate spoilers.

To add even more excitement, riders in E2, as well as those from the E1 and E3 classes, will also be battling for the coveted title of Pro Enduro champion in 2025. There will be an outright winner per round and at the conclusion of the championship in a ‘best of the best’ scenario like the FIM EnduroGP title.

As well as the top brass in E2, E1 riders like Jonte Reynders (DM31 KTM Racing Team), bLU cRU Support Off-Road pair Cooper Sheidow and Fraser Higlett, and William Price (Empire Motorsport Kawasaki) are all expected to mount serious Pro Enduro cases, as well as Jye Dickson (Beta Australia Offroad Team), Korey McMahon (DM31 KTM Racing Team) and Riley McGillivray (Husqvarna Australia) from the E3 category.

Reynders, who is shifting from E2 to E1 following his move to KTM after many years in the Sherco bunker, is the X factor who could give Ruprecht and Milner the most Pro Enduro troubles – just like his fellow Tasmanian, Bacon, did in 2024 on a 250cc four-stroke when he gave Milner the hurry up.

Joining Reynders on the move in 2025 is last year’s E1 runner-up McMahon, who is E3 bound where Dickson will defend his championship.

A smattering of junior jets are also making their way into the senior ranks in 2025, including last year’s top two Jett Yarnold (bLU cRU Support Off-Road) and Eli Tripcony (Husqvarna). The duo will ride in the E1 class.

The 2025 AusEnduro Championship will cater to the full gamut of senior and junior classes and, as well as Pro Enduro, the other major change from 2024 is the addition of a Sportsman Cup for state clubman-level riders – an exciting outlet for grassroots competitors to show their mettle on a national stage.

In total, AusEnduro will encompass 11 championship classes – seven senior and four junior – and four Cup classes, with over 200 entries for Kempsey. There are also two dedicated women’s and girls’ classes, both All-Powers, with Jess Gardiner (Yamaha JGR Offroad Team) the favourite to reclaim the former now that reigning champion Danielle McDonald has moved on. Gardiner’s closest rivals will include Ebony Nielsen (Beta Australia Offroad Team) and the 2024 girls’ No. 1 Madi Simpson (Yamaha).

In the popular junior class – the most heavily subscribed in Kempsey – Tomas Porto (Simford Motorsports Husqvarna) and extreme enduro star Kogan Lock (GASGAS) are the standouts.

The Kempsey rounds will be run under a sprint format, where riders complete as many heats of the enduro course as indicated by the Clerk of Course. Times will be cumulative; the rider with the least accumulated elapsed time for each class will be the winner and so on. The course assessor is former AusEnduro champion and legend Josh Green.

Senior championship
• E1: 120-200cc 2T and 150-250cc 4T
• E2: 220-250cc 2T and 275-450cc 4T
• E3: 290-500cc 2t & 475-650cc 4T
• EJ (Junior): All Powers (Rider must be under 18 years as of January 1, 2025)
• EW (Women): All Powers
• EV (Vets): All Powers (Rider must be 35-plus years of age before January 1, 2025)
• EM (Masters): All Powers (Rider must be 45-plus years of age before January 1, 2025)

Junior championship
• J2 (12-U15 years): 85cc 2T and up to 150cc 4T
• J3 (13-U15 years): 100-200cc 2T and 200-250cc 4T
• J4 (15 years): 100-200cc 2T and 200-250cc 4T
• JG (12-U16 years): 85-200cc 2T and 150-250cc 4T

Cup
• JJ (9-U12 years): 65cc
• J1 (9-U12 years): 85cc 2T and 150cc 4
• Sportsman: All Powers, state clubman riders
• EWD (Enduro Women’s Development): All Powers
• EL (Legends): All Powers (Rider must be 50-plus years of age before January 1, 2025)