The Yamaha Australian Enduro Championship, presented by MX Store continued in Tintinara, South Australia, where racers were challenged by rough, dusty sand conditions in the cross country format for round five. The season to date has seen two riders at the top of their game, but new blood was ready to join the fight.

Round 5: Cross country

Pro Enduro – Milner dominant
Fast off the start, Daniel Milner (DM31 KTM Racing Team) was ready to be the rider everyone chased, rounding the first turn with a clear lead. However, a misunderstanding of a track change announcement at turn three — altering it from an S-bend to a straight line — saw him take the original route and tumbled down to eighth place. His teammate, Korey McMahon, snatched the lead and took full advantage, but that too was short-lived due to a fall early in the opening laps, dropping him deep into the top 10.

Will Dennett (Shop Yamaha Off-Road Racing Team) found himself with clean air and an opportunity to run at full pace, opening up a healthy lead over the first two laps, with fellow Shop Yamaha rider Wil Ruprecht in pursuit. McMahon quickly moved back into third with Jonte Reynders (DM31 KTM Racing Team), Jye Dickson (Beta Australia Enduro Team), and Andrew Wilksch (Beta Australia Enduro Team) in tow.

Things stepped up a gear on lap three. Ruprecht was closing in on Dennett, and Milner had just overtaken McMahon for third before Yamaha stopped for the first of two refuel pit stops. Milner inherited the lead, with the two Yamahas in second and third.

KTM pitted on lap four. Milner’s crew executed a slick stop, allowing him to exit still in the lead. Ruprecht was now second, Dennett third, McMahon fourth and Wilksch moving forward into fifth.

Lap five would be Ruprecht’s undoing, gradually dropping off the pace and down the order. Milner stretched out a massive 56 second lead by the finish, securing a dominant cross country victory. Dennett held on for second, but not without a fight as McMahon made a final dive for position on the final lap before clipping a tree and settling for third. Wilksch worked through to fourth and Reynders was fifth. After falling through the field due to a hand issue, Ruprecht came home sixth just ahead of Riley McGillivray (Husqvarna) in seventh and Cooper Sheidow (Blu Cru Yamaha) in eighth.

Milner was unstoppable in the cross country format

E1
It was a dominant day for Reynders in E1 who was unmatched in the class as he continues to eye the Pro Enduro championship. The fast, sandy track made for a challenging day on the smaller-capacity machines as they battled for track position.

Will Price (Empire Kawasaki) positioned himself well early and maintained second place for half of the race before slipping back to fourth by the end. Sheidow, however, started further back but showed persistence and set his quickest time on lap five to finish second. Fraser Higlett (Blu Cru Yamaha) finished in third after a tough battle with his teammate Sheidow in the final stages. Ryan Hayward (KTM) finished in fifth for what was a solid and consistent effort across the day.

Reynders continued his fine form

E2
Despite a tough start to the day, it ignited a determination in Milner that enabled him to fight back and take a clear win. Dennett put in one of his best performances in years — aggressive and fast over the first three laps. Passed by his teammate Ruprecht for second shortly after the pit stop, he opened up a small gap but was unable to maintain it in the long run, eventually slipping down the order with over an hour still to race, allowing Dennett to finish second.

Wilksch had a tough opening lap, falling back through the field, but fought hard to claim a well-earned third in class. Tom Buxton (GasGas) rode a quiet and steady race to finish fifth. Max Midwinter (KTM) started at the front of the field and held his position deep into the race, only challenged late in the day by Liam Mason (Yamaha). Just three seconds separated them at the line for sixth and seventh respectively.

Milner picked up another class win

E3
McMahon dominated in E3, finishing more than five minutes ahead of his rivals in the class, showing he’s committed to collecting class wins aswell as the Pro Enduro championship.

McGillivray was strong in the sands of Tintinara, positioning himself well early and gaining momentum throughout to set his fastest time on lap five, eventually finishing second in class.

Dickson was a favourite early on, but struggled to find his rhythm. Despite his trouble, he pushed through to finish third on a day that saw many others falter.

McMahon’s lead continues to grow

EJ
Kogan Lock (GasGas) ran into issues early, colliding with a fallen rider on the opening lap and allow Will McInnes (KTM) to take the ascendency. However, Lock didn’t give up, chipping away at the gap and closed to within six seconds, the battle for the win going right down to the wire. But it wasn’t enough as McInnes held on for his first round win of the season.

Tomas Porto (Husqvarna) claimed his first podium of the year, followed by Oscar Harris (KTM) in fourth and Oliver Paterno (Yamaha) in fifth.

Will McInnes takes his first win for the year

EW
Jessica Gardiner (JGR Yamaha Off-Road) once again stamped her authority on the EW class, taking the lead off the start and never looked back, securing the win by two minutes.

Emelie Karlsson (Triumph) achieved her best result of 2025, locking down second place on the opening lap and held it comfortably to the end.

Madi Simpson (Yamaha) didn’t start the day as planned, struggling to get her machine started and entered the first turn trailing the pack. True to her form, Simpson fought her way through the field and finished third.

Jess Gardiner claimed another win in EW

Round 6: Sprints
Fresh in the morning but with ideal racing conditions throughout and riders worn down from a brutal day of cross country racing, now they had to step it up for the shorter sprint races. The tracks were rough but fast, and there would be no easing up for those hoping to secure a spot on the podium.

Pro Enduro
After a less than impressive result in cross country, Dickson rolled into the sprints ready for redemption. The opening test saw familiar names at the front like Milner and Wilksch, but it was Dickson who landed the first blow, finishing four seconds ahead. He repeated this in the second test before Milner returned to the top in the third, beating Dickson by only one second.

McMahon continued his momentum from cross country, placing third and fourth in the opening four tests. However, a mistake in the fifth saw him drop to seventh. Dennett, Reynders, Wilksch and McMahon traded top-five placings throughout the day.

At day’s end, Dickson picked up his first-ever AusEnduro round win — also the first for the Beta Australian Off Road team. Milner, who pushed through with heavily blistered hands, finished second and Wilksch rounded out the podium.

Dickson was untouchable in the sprints

E1
Reynders wasted no time getting up to speed in the sprints, pulling out a 22 second lead in the first test — a trend he maintained all day. However, a penalty added five minutes to his total time, dropping him to fifth and off the podium.

The battle for the minors went back and forth all day. Sheidow was second after test one with Jett Yarnold (Blu Cru Yamaha) in third. The two swapped positions for the second and third tests. It wasn’t until test 5 that a major shift occurred with Price running consistent times and took third after a mistake from Yarnold, who eventually finished seventh. Price remained strong, and nabbed another third place in test 6.

With the penalty applied to Reynders, it meant Sheidow was declared the winner with Yarnold and Price second and third respectively.

Sheidow claimed his first win of the season in round six

E2
The E2 class has been close throughout the season to date, with two riders nearly inseparable going into the weekend. Milner showed in cross country that he would be a force to be reckoned with at Tintinara and demonstrated incredible pace early.

Wilksch found his form in the sprints, bouncing and hopping through the course with a calculated ride, but a different approach in Test 3 saw him drop down the order. He did, however, re-group and collected class wins in tests 5 and 6.

After his best cross country result of the year, Dennett was expected to come into the sprints strong and consistency was key, placing third in all but the fourth test where he finished second.

Behind them, Jeremy Carpentier (Yamaha) was having his best ride of the year, grabbing fourth in the first three tests. A big crash in test 4 slowed his momentum and fell down the order.

Ruprecht had a tough weekend, sustaining hand issues during the cross country race that left him on the back foot before the first sprint. His best result was fourth in the opening test and he continued to slide down the order afterwards.

Milner did enough to secure the class win and a major points haul in the championship, with Wilksch and Dennett second and third respectively.

The momentum continued for Milner in round six

E3
Dickson was right at home in the sand — comfortable throughout the day and never challenged in E3. Finishing 90 seconds ahead of his nearest competitor, his performance sent a strong message for upcoming sand races.

McMahon rode a consistent race to finish second, while a tip-over in test 5 allowed McGillivray to snatch second for that respective test before returning to his run of thirds. McMahon held on for second overall, with McGillivray rounding out the podium.

Dickson claimed his maiden outright victory

EJ
New names at the top are not uncommon in the EJ class. After a solid cross country performance, McInnes returned to the line full of confidence and executed his race strategy perfectly, going unbeaten in every test and opened up a lead of just under one minute to claim victory.

Championship leader Lock had a quiet but steady day, finishing second and collected valuable points. Fletcher Turner (KTM) rounded out the podium.

McInnes made it a double victory

EW
EW was dominated by a familiar name — Gardiner — who was simply too strong on the day. On a track very different from the cross-country course, she found her groove early and steamrolled her way to a decisive victory.

Following a successful cross country outing, Karlsson opened with a solid second in test 1 but didn’t line up for any following tests. Unlike earlier rounds, Simpson couldn’t match Gardiner’s speed and rode out the day for second overall. Ebony Nielsen (Beta Australia Enduro Team) secured third and collected valuable championship points.

Gardiner went back-to-back at Tintinara

Rounds seven and eight of the 2025 Yamaha Australian Enduro Championship presented by MXStore will be held in Casterton, Victoria on June 28-29, another sandy course that will test the skill level of all riders.

Images: Troy Pears