Tasmanian Jonte Reynders has produced a withering finale to the latest instalment of the 2022 Australian Off-Road Championship stopover in Mackay on April 8-9, easily winning the E3 class in round four on his Motul Pirelli Sherco Race Team 300 SE Factory.
While his teammate Callum Norton (450 SEF Factory) was an early Mackay casualty with a knee injury, Reynders, 24, just got better and better as time passed. His breakout victory over arch-rival Andy Wilksch in the E3 battle on April 9 also saw him fall agonisingly short – by just 1.289 seconds – of claiming the overall honours.
With his confidence sky high, Jonte then did the business in a one-lap 'dash for cash' top 10 shootout against his major rivals to bookend the Queensland blockbuster.
In round three action on Friday, Reynders finished third in E3 and eighth overall after an unfortunate excursion into the local sugar cane, which cost him about three minutes.
ROUND THREE RESULTSROUND FOUR RESULTS“I finally stopped making mistakes and rode like I know I should, so I came out with the win in E3! I’m absolutely stoked with the result," said Reynders.
"My 300 was comfortable out there but I basically went into cruise control because it was so easy to make a mistake after the rain on Friday night.
"In the end, I just worked to keep focused and avoid mistakes.”
Reynders is second in E3 on 89pts, 8pts behind Wilksch, with eight rounds still remaining.
Kyron Bacon and Josh Green lead the E1 and E2 classes.
With Norton set for a return, rounds five and six of the Australian Off-Road Championship will be held in Kyogle (NSW) on July 16-17.