Sherco steps it up in Oz

Andy Wigan

Pixel Pig

We speak with Sherco Australia’s Don Murray about the French brand’s ramped-up off-road racing intentions for season 2013, and the new models in the pipeline…

When Team Australia finished an historical second to the all-conquering French at the International Six-Days Enduro (ISDE) late last year, who would have guessed it would lay the foundations for Sherco Australia to launch an off-road race team in 2013? Sounds like a tenuous connection, right?
Wrong. As Sherco’s Australian importer, Moto Central Group’s Don Murray, explains, “Sherco’s CEO, Marc Teissier, was so impressed by the calibre of the Australian riders at the German ISDE in 2012, it opened his eyes to Sherco’s potential in the Australian market. He then made a three-day trip to Australia for the Melbourne Motorcycle Expo in November, after which we began to lay plans for a Sherco race team that’d contest Australia’s major off-road and desert-racing series in 2013.”
We caught up with Don Murray to get more of an insight into Sherco’s plans for the season ahead.

Transmoto: Tell us about how the off-road team came together and who’ll be racing on it.
Don Murray: As several of Sherco’s Expert trials riders (which means Pro-level in the trials scene) increasingly expressed interest in the off-road scene, the formation of a Sherco Australia race team made more and more sense. Our off-road team will be comprised of Dylan Rees (E2), Tim Coleman (E1) and Sam Rummery (E2), along with Victoria’s No.1 Women’s-class off-road rider, Teneil Van Doorn.

What events and series will the Sherco team contest?
With Dylan and Tim being the cream of the crop of Australian trials riders, we’d like to think the team can follow in the footsteps of guys like Graham Jarvis and Taddy Blazusiak and specialise in the extreme enduro events such as Wildwood Rock, Melbourne Enduro-X and the upcoming Kings of Endurocross in South Australia. But the intention is for the team to compete in the entire AORC series and the A4DE, plus selected riders are looking at contesting the Finke Desert Race. Also, as the guy who imports Sherco into Romania also runs the Red Bull Romaniacs extreme enduro, we’re looking at the possibility of getting one or two of our guys across for that event as well.

Will Sherco also be looking to support riders at the state level?
Yes, we will. Aside from the official national team, the plan is also to assist dealer-supported riders in selected state series, and we’re currently looking for candidates. Any riders or dealers who are interested are welcome to contact us via email (sales@motocentral.com.au).

Despite Europe’s ongoing financial difficulties, Sherco seems to be forging ahead.
Absolutely. The new long-stroke SE300i-R is a big step forward for 2013. The company’s main focus this year will be the all-new 250cc and 300cc two-stroke enduro bikes. I see that Moto Verte magazine has recently tested the prototype 300, but we won’t see the new models in Australia until November, when we’ll have them on show at the Melbourne Expo. Then, for 2014, Sherco’s completely new 450cc and big-bore four-strokes will arrive. They’ll get the sweeping frame, suspension and brake upgrades that are already on the SE250/300i-R. And with the ‘455’ engine performing so well in the Dakar Rally this year, we’re very positive about the potential of these bigger-bore enduro models. On top of that, Sherco will also be producing 65 and 85cc kids’ motocross bikes for 2015. So, with the much bigger model range, my focus in the coming 12 months is to ensure Sherco’s Australian dealer network is expanded accordingly.