Victorian Daniel Milner is the first official outright champion in the long history of the Yamaha Australian Enduro Championship presented by MXstore (AusEnduro) after two disciplined rides at the 2025 season finale in Gympie (Qld) on October 11-12.
Report by MA: Milner rode his DM31 KTM Racing Team 450 XC-F to a 4-5 scorecard in the Pro Enduro class, safe in the knowledge it was going to be enough to hold off a red-hot Wil Ruprecht (Shop Yamaha Off-Road Racing Team), who extended his late-season surge to four wins in a row.
However, Ruprecht ultimately fell short by 9pts (256 to 247), with the main difference between the pair being Milner’s metronomic consistency – nine podiums and four wins from 12 rounds – coupled with a slight mid-season dip for Ruprecht, who returned to Australia in 2025 after a successful championship-winning world enduro stint.
Pro Enduro – the fastest riders across the E1-E3 championship classes – was only inaugurated officially in 2025, with Milner now writing his name into the history books as well as winning the E2 title over Ruprecht and Will Dennett (Shop Yamaha Off-Road Racing Team).
It was Milner’s fifth E2 title, and his ninth overall in the AusEnduro Championship, extending back to 2012.
In a superb final weekend of racing in Gympie, Jonte Reynders (DM31 KTM Racing Team) and Jess Gardiner (JGR Yamaha Off-Road Racing) wrapped up the E1 and EW (women’s) titles on Saturday. At the same time, today it was the turn of Korey McMahon (DM31 KTM Racing Team) in E3 and Kogan Lock (Beta) in EJ (junior) to create championship memories of their own.
After four second places in the AusEnduro ranks since 2020, it was a well-deserved breakthrough for Reynders, while Gardiner added another halo to a phenomenal career that kickstarted with her first AusEnduro crown in 2010.
Meanwhile, it was the first AusEnduro titles for McMahon and teenage star Lock.
PRO ENDURO
Ruprecht took all the momentum into Gympie, and it showed with two hard-fought victories over Reynders (Saturday) and then McMahon (Sunday) – the latter only by a wafer-thin margin of three seconds.
McMahon was third on Saturday, the same position Reynders finished on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Milner and Dennett swapped fourth and fifth places, with Milner’s heavy lifting throughout the season giving him the luxury of playing it safe in Gympie as Ruprecht led the way.
McMahon (230pts) finished third in Pro Enduro, ahead of Reynders (206pts) – who leapfrogged up two spots in Gympie – Jye Dickson (Beta Australia Enduro Team, 204pts) and Dennett (201pts).
E1
Reynders scored two crushing wins in Gympie, the first to wrap up the E1 championship and the second without an ounce of pressure.
Last year’s EJ winner Jett Yarnold (Blu Cru Yamaha) was second on both days, while Fraser Higlett (Blu Cru Yamaha) and Ryan Hayward (KTM) shared the third places.
Cooper Sheidow (Blu Cru Yamaha) finished second overall after 12 hotly contested rounds, ahead of Yarnold.
E2
Ruprecht was the star as the E2 championship wrapped up, although it was Milner who added to his already burgeoning trophy collection.
Just like Pro Enduro, what again set Milner apart from his arch-rival was his permanent residency on the podium – six victories.
Milner went 2-3 in Gympie, while Dennett was 3-2 and a clear third in the standings.
Meanwhile, Tom Buxton (GASGAS Australia), Max Midwinter (KTM) and Jeremy Carpentier (Yamaha) all took full advantage of the absence of Andy Wilksch (Beta Australia Enduro Team) with injury to complete the championships in positions 4-6.
E3
McMahon and Jye Dickson (Beta Australia Enduro Team) traded blows most of the season. Still, McMahon had the edge when it mattered – and that’s how it played again in Gympie as he won both rounds to put an exclamation mark on a brilliant season.
McMahon finished on 294pts ahead of Dickson (268pts) and Riley McGillivray (Husqvarna Australia, 222pts) – the three clear standouts in E2.
Max Rikys (KTM, 166pts) and Brodie Young (KTM, 107pts) were fourth and fifth after consistent seasons.
EW
Gardiner’s insatiable enduro appetite knows no bounds, and she showed that again in 2025 by winning the championship with a round to spare.
Gardiner was only bested twice all season – to fellow Yamaha rider Madi Simpson (Monster Energy WBR) – which is why she banked 294pts out of a possible 300 on her way to a ninth title.
Simpson went 2-2 in Gympie to finish the year on 254pts. In contrast, the battle for third went down to the wire between Ebony Nielsen (Beta Australia Enduro Team, 217pts) and veteran campaigner Emelie Karlsson (Triumph, 205pts).
Jade Chellas (KTM, 181pts) was fifth.
EJ
Lock’s full-time transition to enduro competition from hard enduro has reaped an instant dividend, claiming the EJ title and following in the footsteps of riders like Daniel Sanders, Ruprecht, Kyron Bacon and McMahon.
Lock was only 11pts ahead of Will McInnes (KTM) before Gympie, but a sizzling 1-1 scorecard put the issue beyond doubt.
Lock banked 277pts ahead of McInnes (254pts), who went 3-4 in Gympie.
Fletcher Tucker (KTM, 211pts), Oliver Paterno (Yamaha, 190pts) and Tomas Porto (Husqvarna, 167pts) were next.
Images: Troy Pears
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