SHOPYAMAHA RIDERS LOCKED IN FOR 2026

The 2022 EnduroGP World Champion, Wil Ruprecht, will be joined by off-road newcomer, NZ’s Maximus Purvis, for Yamaha’s premier off-road race team in 2026.

After officially reinstating the Australian Enduro Championship’s (AEC) Outright standings – now called “Pro Enduro” – the revamped 2025 AEC featured a bunch of riveting scraps up and down the entire field. But it was the showdown between two of the sport’s big-hitters – Yamaha’s Wil Ruprecht and Daniel Milner – that most captured fans’ attention last season. Despite winning six of series’ 12 rounds in both the E2 class and Outright (including the series’ final four rounds on the trot), Ruprecht had to settle for second behind Milner in both E2 and Outright standings in 2025 (by just 13 and 9 points, respectively). And there’s little doubt that the second-place silverware has provided Ruprecht with added motivation to go one better this season.

With Ruprecht’s 2025 teammate, Will Dennett, intending to race in Europe this year, speculation about who would partner the 2022 world champ on the ShopYamaha team has finally been put to rest, with Kiwi MXer – and relative enduro newcomer – Maximus Purvis confirmed for the E1 class. Here’s Yamaha’s PR, detailing the rider line-up of the ShopYamaha race team, which will headline Yami’s large presence in the 2026 AEC paddock…

Australia loves off-road riding and the Yamaha WR250F and WR450F are bikes heavily influenced by the Australian conditions and environment. Combine that with Yamaha’s love of racing, and you begin to understand the reasons why the BLU CRU are so involved in the Australian Enduro Championship. Season 2026 will see Yamaha continue their commitment to off-road racing with a plethora of supported teams and riders locked in for the new season as well as our ongoing commitment to the championship.

Headlining Yamaha’s presence in off-road is the ShopYamaha Off-Road team, managed by former champion, AJ Roberts. The team has long been the benchmark in off-road racing and AJ’s passion continues to drive the team forward, year after year.

The team will again have a two-pronged attack, retaining the services of 2022 FIM Enduro World Champion, Wil Ruprecht, in the E2 class; and we can reveal New Zealand motocross champion, Maximus Purvis, as the team’s E1 pilot.

Ruprecht returned to Australia at the end of the 2024 season and reunited with AJ to go racing in 2025. They achieved instant success and won the opening round of the championship and were locked into a season-long war against Daniel Milner.

The pair traded wins until the rounds were contested on the softer, sand-based surfaces, where Ruprecht isn’t at his best. But he has learnt from that and has spent considerable time in the off-season working on his sand riding and knows that good results on those conditions will go a long way to answering his quest for the 2026 championship.

Based in NSW, Ruprecht is the ultimate professional on and off the track and will leave no stone unturned as he prepares for the new season.

“Last year was my first time back in Australia for a while and I wasn’t able to adjust to some of the conditions we faced fast enough. I was fit, but I wasn’t versatile, so I have incorporated a few different things into my preparation this year and hope that it will reward me at the end of the season,” the NSW-based Ruprecht explains.

“The team has been great and we already have a good setting with the bike, and I feel comfortable. So, it’s just keeping my head down, doing the work and being ready to go when the opening weekend comes around in March, as it will be hot and sweaty in Roma that time of year,” Ruprecht went on to say.

Joining him on the ShopYamaha Team will be New Zealand motocross ace, Maximus Purvis. Purvis made a guest appearance with the team last year at the Kyogle round of the championship and with no off-road racing experience in the AEC, Purvis charged his way onto the podium in the E1 class and was around the top-six in the Pro Enduro Outright division.

Purvis enjoyed that style of racing in what was the most technical loops of the year and was keen to give it a go full time in 2026. He currently leads the New Zealand MX1 Championship but will switch to off-road at the end of their championship in February and tackle the AEC with the ShopYamaha team.

“I had a good time racing at Kyogle last year and while I didn’t understand everything about what I was doing, I loved the riding and wanted to do more. So, when AJ offered me the chance to do the full series this year, I was on board right away,” Purvis said. “I know I have plenty to learn, which also means there is a lot of improvements that can be found as I get a better understanding of the riding. I’m looking forward to it and will be ready to go when the championship gets started.”

The first stop of the 12-round 2026 Australian Enduro Championships will be at Roma, Queensland, on the weekend of March 7-8.

Stay tuned for news about all the other Yamaha-supported teams and riders who’ve been locked in for season 2026 – all of whom will be vying for the enticing money on offer from Yamaha’s significantly expanded race contingency program.