THE DARDANUP DASH

The Dardanup Dash lived up to its name, dishing out a relentless day of hard enduro that pushed riders and machinery to the limit. Here’s how Round 2 of the 2026 DEMO CUT WA Hard Enduro Series played out.

Words & Images by Laughing Bulldog Images

Official Round Sponsor: Enduro Parts Australia

THE SILENT ENEMY

The Southwest delivered a dry, biting winter morning for Round 2 of the DEMO CUT WA Hard Enduro Series, but the real enemy wasn’t the weather. It was the track.

Dardanup played the villain perfectly: cold, calculated, and designed to lure riders into mistakes they didn’t see coming. A thin blanket of cloud smothered the sun all day, keeping the temperature stubbornly at 8C. A sharp breeze cut through the pits, and inside the timber it became a long, freezing day of pure concentration.

For the bumper field of 91 riders, every corner felt like a trap waiting to snap shut.

THE TRAP IS SET

To score points at Dardanup, riders had one job: complete as many laps as possible within the allotted time. Simple on paper, brutal in reality.

The 8km natural-terrain loop offered no man-made gimmicks. Just raw, unforgiving country. Fast, flowing trail sections flicked straight into tight transitions that dumped riders into trouble. The creeks were trenches: shallow water, but brutal exits with steep, greasy banks that spat riders back down.

The rock gardens were steep, technical and hungry, swallowing tyres and locking wheels with a grip that stopped bikes dead. The wet sections didn’t look intimidating, but the slick mud turned tiny errors into full-body wrestling matches. More than a few riders lost front mudguards, smashed clean off as the rocks hammered the plastics.

Dardanup didn’t need theatrics. It just needed time.

STAGGERED WAVES AND RACE RESULTS

With the field stacked across multiple classes, organisers kept the day moving with heavy staggered waves.

Gold Class launched first, hitting fresh logs and slick creek trenches at full pace. Jakob Petrig didn’t flinch. Continuing his Round 1 form, he stormed to the front early, built a massive lead and never looked back.

Thirty minutes later, the packed Silver Class was unleashed into the timber. Another thirty minutes after that, the final wave rolled out: Bronze, Iron, Women’s and Juniors, ten riders at a time.

In the Women’s Class, Seina Petrig put on a clinic. She broke away early and never surrendered the lead.

The Iron Class delivered the day’s biggest shock. After a razor-thin four-second win in Round 1, local favourite Andrew Lardner was expected to shine on home turf, but the brutal 8km circuit broke his rhythm completely. Grant McCarthy capitalised and stormed to victory, finishing over a lap ahead of the field.

MECHANICAL TORTURE

Under the tight forest canopy, Dardanup became a mechanical graveyard.

The terrain, backed by the crew at Enduro Parts Australia, showed zero mercy. In the bottlenecks and rock climbs, the sound of spinning tyres mixed with boiling radiators and the crunch of bikes slamming into rocks. Lever guards snapped. Pipes bent. Front mudguards tore clean off as riders muscled through the slick sections.

Finishing wasn’t guaranteed. It was earned.

THE GRASSROOTS REALITY

Hard enduro is a sport built on grit, and the paddock proved it across every class.

In the worst ruts and rock traps, riders stopped worrying about positions and started helping each other, dragging bikes up banks by the forks, pushing strangers out of holes and forming human chains to escape the trenches.

The Bronze, Women’s and Junior riders copped the heaviest bottlenecks, but their refusal to quit became the highlight of the day. By the final lap, helmets were slumped on handlebars, faces were smeared with dark soil and hands were torn raw by blisters.

The WA crew showed exactly what grassroots hard enduro is: authentic, brutal and full of heart.

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CLOSING KICKER

When the engines finally cooled and the forest fell quiet, one thing was clear: the Dardanup Dash doesn’t care who you are. It only cares if you can keep going.

FINAL RESULTS

GOLD

1. Jakob Petrig
2. Chase Lardner
3. Boston King

SILVER

1. Kieran Rooney
2. Tyler Martin
3. Jett Pike

BRONZE

1. Russel Vivier
2. Hayden McLean
3. Stuart McNaught

IRON

1. Grant McCarthy
2. Andrew Lardner
3. Steven King

WOMEN

1. Sienna Petrig
2. Diana Pont
3. Nancy Blazun

Click here for more info on the WHES series