The 40th anniversary Australian Four Day Enduro proved to be somewhat of an old-school, tough event with 19 special tests and a ripping final motocross. Held in the Cessnock area of NSW from Wednesday to Saturday last week, the 2018 Australian Four Day Enduro is perhaps the ultimate test of man and machine and the Motul Pirelli Sherco Team rider came out of it with plenty of positives.
Despite being handed a one-minute penalty of Day-1 due to a rider error, Andy Wilksch posted some very fast special test times on his Sherco 300 SE-R placing 6th in the E3 Class and guiding the Victorian Junior Team to victory.
“I made a stupid mistake in my afternoon work period on Day-1 which really hurt my result, but I managed to post some solid tests,” Wilksch explained. “My bike was awesome and didn’t miss a beat which proved the Sherco is reliable because there were plenty of bikes that didn’t make it to the end.”
Wilksch finished 6th in the E3 class and was the lead rider in the winning Victorian Junior team for riders under 23.
“It was great to win the State Team category for Victoria,” said Wilksch. “There’s nothing like a bit of traditional State team rivalry to fire you up and winning the Team event was excellent.”
Sophie Coldicutt enjoyed a largely uneventful Four Day Enduro on her Sherco 250 SE-R riding a consistent and clean event to finish fourth in the Women’s Class.
“As a Team the Sherco riders got through the event with no mechanical issues proving Sherco is tough and reliable,” said Motul Pirelli Sherco Team manager Derek Grundy. “Andy showed good promise. He showed some great speed at times and despite his mistake on Day-1, he pulled himself together and found a system with his work periods and composed himself. He really tried and did get on with the job. Andy is a fast rider and with a bit more work in certain areas he'll show what he is capable of when he finds the recipe to make it click. We're excited about his potential.
“Sophie rode very well and impressed,” Grundy continued. “Her mechanical skills in her work period was spot on. She came up against some tough competition in the special tests and stuck at it. Sophie didn’t have any dramas and can learn from the intensity of racing day after day at the top level. I feel she will come away from this race a better rider. We think she will be on the podium very soon.”
The Motul Pirelli Sherco Team will now begin preparing for rounds three and four the 2018 Australian Off-Road Championship ro be held May 5-6 at Hedley in Victoria.
Photography: John Pearson