11 April 2008
MEDIA RELEASE
World-Leading Motorcycle Racers to Battle Australia's Best
Media conference will be held Monday, April 14 at 11 am
Location:
Recreation Reserve - Buln Buln, Station St, Buln Buln (about 10-minutes North of Warragul)
Interviewees:
- Top Victorian racers including Blake Hore (from Officer), Jehi Willis (Koo Wee Rup), Peter Boyle (Stoney Creek) and Bec Lipsett (Emerald)
- Last year's top Australian finisher in the A4DE, Chris Hollis
- Fast Italian Antoine Meo, who has been flown in for the event
- Event organisers and racing legends, Phil Sargent and Lyndon Heffernan
Media contact:
Leigh Hutton (A4DE Media Manager) - 0404 062 763
Some of the world's fastest and most accomplished off-road motorcycle riders will line up against Australia's elite for the 30th annual Hog's Breath Cafe Australian Four Day Enduro (A4DE) from April 17-20 at Warragul in Victoria.
The A4DE is a national championship event and considered one of the most prestigious in the world. It has attracted nearly 350 racers this year and is expected to contribute more than $1.5 million to the Australian economy.
The occasion has this year drawn five-time MX World Champion and BMW pilot, Belgium's Joel Smets, as well as fast Italian Antoine Meo and Aussie ex-pat Jake Stapleton, who grew up in the NSW Hunter Valley region and spent several years racing the World Championships in Europe.
Stapleton hasn't been back to Australia since moving from Ireland to Canada over a year ago and is expected to be one of the serious contenders for the A4DE crown.
Among the top Australian riders competing will be Ballard's Yamaha Off-Road Team's Chris Hollis, from Port Macquarie, who finished an amazing second outright in last year's event to one of the best enduro racers in the world, David Knight, who was flown in from the Isle of Man to contest the event. Hollis also walked away with dual wins at the first and second Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championships (AORC) in mid-March.
"I want to win the four day outright this year and I have been riding heaps and training. I also won my first race of the season, the first New South Wales state title, so I am feeling confident, even if there are really fast guys from overseas here," Hollis said.
Victoria will also have riders vying for the honor, with Husqvarna's Jehi Willis from Koo Wee Rup, Christensen's Yamaha rider Blake Hore from Officer and Mark Portbury from Pakenham, all who finished in about the top-20 overall last year.
Willis came 10th and Hore 13th at last year's event - "I want win my class and do my best against the internationals that are coming out," Willis said.
Newcomer to the sport, GHR Honda's Peter Boyle, from Stony Creek Victoria, is also expected to be a serious contender at his first A4DE after finishing on the outright podium at the second round of the AORC.
Factory racer Bec Lipsett, from Emerald, is expected to be a favorite in the Women's Championship Class. A record eight ladies will be competing this year.
Other riders to watch will be Motorex KTM's Brad 'Wonka' Williscroft and reigning NSW champ, Ballard's Yamaha rider Jarrod Bewley, both from Sydney.
Eight-time Queensland and dual national champ, Yamaha's 'King' Kirk Hutton and three-time Australian champion Honda's Anthony 'AJ' Roberts, both from the Sunshine State, will also be vying for the honor.
"I want to win the event outright this year," Roberts said. "It's something I haven't achieved. It's a very prestigious event and I want to win it for Australia, I am sick of all the Europeans winning it."
Riders from West and South Australia and New Zealand will also make the trek for the event.
While the A4DE gives trophies to individual competitors and awards an outright honour, one of the most highly anticipated categories is always the State Senior and Junior Trophy Teams.
NSW and Victoria will both be fighting for the trophy after losing it to Queensland last year for the first time in more than two decades.
The A4DE consists of four days of grueling trail and six special test phases a day, equaling a total of about 30 hours and more than 1000kms on the machine. Riders must also complete a final motocross on day four.
The event boasts classes for any senior rider male or female from clubman to pro.
Race organisers, Dirt Bike Promotions' Phil Sargent and DeTour's Lyndon Heffernan, said spectators were in for a "real treat" this year with such a strong field of fantastic riders.
"We work hard to make sure the event gets bigger and better every year," Sargent said.
"We have made sure to pick a great spot with lots of awesome riding and we have again secured a fully licensed football complex for Parc Ferme [where the bikes are locked up each night and support crews are based]," Sargent said.
Heffernan said the trail sections will range from "red clay to shaley high country terrain" - "wet conditions would see the event be very tough," he said.
"There will be six tests per day, a variety of grass track and forest tests and one that will be used on the way from Parc ferme each day. In most cases start and finish will be side by side to make it easy for crews and riders," he said.
"The final Moto test will be a very European-style track on the side of a hill with nearly 90 percent of the track visible from the spectator area.
"It will be held at Lardner Park, which is just five-minutes off the Princes Highway... it's a fantastic spot, with a huge pavilion that's just been built at the top of the hill."
Parc Ferme for the event will be located at Buln Buln Recreation Ground. If you would like to get autographs, watch the riders working on their bikes, leaving for or returning from the day's racing, come to the recreation ground between 7am and 9am or 2pm and 4pm on April 17, 18 or 19. To catch all the action of the event's finale, don't miss the final motocross at Lardner Park on April 20.
To check out rider profiles or for more information please visit www.a4de.com
Final motocross details
Date: Sunday, April 20 Time: Racing from 9.30am Location: Lardner Park, 155 Burnt Store Road, Warragul Admission: Adults only $15, $8 for children 14 and under, kids five and under free
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