Queensland Moto Park dished out a brutal reminder of what Australian enduro is all about over rounds five and six of the 2026 Yamaha Australian Enduro Championship presented by MXstore, with dry, blown-out conditions and rough bushland terrain pushing riders to the limit across the two-day Queensland double-header.
Dust, rocks and deepening ruts made survival almost as important as outright speed, and as the weekend wore on, riders who could stay consistent and minimise mistakes were the ones standing on the podium Sunday afternoon.
At the front of the Pro Enduro field, it was once again Shop Yamaha Off-Road Racing Team rider Wil Ruprecht continuing his unbeaten 2026 run, but unlike previous rounds, the Yamaha rider was forced to fight hard for every second at QMP.
DM31 KTM Racing Team’s Jye Dickson came out swinging from the opening test on Saturday, immediately putting pressure on Ruprecht and signalling he was ready to challenge for outright honours. Despite a small late-lap crash, Dickson still claimed the opening test win and remained glued to Ruprecht throughout the day.
The pair traded times through the middle stages as outright honours became a genuine head-to-head fight, while DM31 KTM teammate Korey McMahon stayed firmly in touch aboard the E3 machine.
Ultimately, test five proved decisive. Dickson lost crucial time after an issue mid-test, allowing Ruprecht to finally create breathing room before locking down another outright victory. Dickson secured second overall with one of his strongest rides of the season so far, while McMahon completed the Pro Enduro podium in third.
Sunday followed a similar script, although McMahon’s pace continued building as conditions worsened. Ruprecht again controlled the early stages, while Dickson remained within striking distance and McMahon steadily closed the gap as confidence grew through the second half of the day.
Dickson finally broke through for a test win in stage five, before McMahon capped off the weekend by topping the final test outright. But once again, nobody could stop Ruprecht, who extended both his perfect season and winning streak with another outright victory ahead of Dickson and McMahon. BluCru Yamaha rider Cooper Sheidow impressed with fourth outright and top E1 honours, while Kogan Lock rounded out the outright top five.
The E1 category again produced some of the closest racing of the weekend. Sheidow, Deegan Graham, Shop Yamaha Off-Road Racing Team rider Maximus Purvis and Jeremy Carpentier immediately locked into another fierce four-rider battle Saturday, separated by less than eight seconds after the opening test.
Sheidow and Graham traded blows early before the race swung heavily during test four. Sheidow responded with a dominant stage win while Purvis crashed heavily after clipping a rock, ending his day early. From there, Sheidow controlled the closing stages to secure another E1 win, with Graham narrowly edging Carpentier for second by just two tenths of a second.
Sunday belonged entirely to Sheidow. The Yamaha rider again set the benchmark from the opening test, while Carpentier emerged as his closest challenger throughout the day. Graham’s podium hopes took an early hit after a heavy opening-test crash cost nearly a minute, but the Yamaha rider fought back strongly through the remaining stages to salvage third overall behind Sheidow and Carpentier.
In E2, the Ruprecht versus Dickson rivalry delivered another weekend-long showdown. Dickson consistently matched Ruprecht test-for-test and remained within only seconds of the Yamaha rider for much of the weekend, but again a costly error Saturday proved the difference. Ruprecht swept both days from Dickson, while Lock continued his consistent championship form with back-to-back third-place finishes.
McMahon remained untouchable in E3 across both days. The KTM rider controlled the class from the opening tests Saturday and Sunday, extending his winning streak while continuing to establish himself as one of the standout riders of the 2026 championship. Max Midwinter and Broc Grabham split the remaining podium positions across the weekend, with Grabham rebounding strongly Sunday after an earlier timing issue.
The EW category delivered some of the weekend’s biggest drama. Yamaha rider Jessica Gardiner looked set to continue her domination Saturday before mistakes mid-race opened the door for Madi Simpson. Simpson capitalised with a series of late test wins before sealing her first victory of the 2026 season by just 3.5 seconds over Gardiner. Emi Ruprecht completed Saturday’s podium.
Gardiner responded Sunday. Determined to rebound, the Yamaha rider immediately stamped authority on the class, catching Simpson during the opening test and controlling the event from there to secure a commanding victory. Simpson finished second, while Maddison Healey returned to the podium in third.
The EJ class remained just as intense. Championship leader Marcus Nowland finally secured his first EJ overall victory of the season Saturday after a hard-fought battle with Beau Tripcony, Oscar Harris and Kai Austin.
Sunday saw Austin strike back hard, opening an immediate gap and surviving a late charge from Tripcony to secure victory by seven seconds, while Nowland completed the podium in third.
After one of the toughest weekends of the season so far, the championship now heads south for rounds seven and eight at Casterton in Victoria on June 20-21.
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