Ruprecht seals 2026 Pro Enduro crown in dramatic Coonalpyn finale

2026 Yamaha Australian Enduro Championship

Rounds 11 & 12 – Coonalpyn, SA

Coonalpyn crowns AusEnduro champions after dramatic season finale

When we last checked in on the 2026 AusEnduro Championship at Kempsey, Wil Ruprecht had retained a 19-point Pro Enduro lead, but Korey McMahon’s Round 10 victory ensured the fight would continue into Coonalpyn.

That advantage was almost halved during Saturday’s three-hour cross-country. With wind gusts exceeding 60 km/h adding to the punishment of the South Australian sand, McMahon delivered his most emphatic Pro Enduro performance of the season.

The DM31 Racing KTM rider finished nearly two minutes clear of teammate Jye Dickson, while Kogan Lock, Liam Mason and Ruprecht completed the top five. Fifth represented Ruprecht’s worst result of the campaign and reduced his championship advantage from 19 points to just 10.

Everything appeared set for a tense Sunday decider, but the anticipated duel ended during the opening sprint when McMahon crashed heavily. He remounted and completed the test before withdrawing from the remainder of the round.

With McMahon unable to score, Ruprecht no longer needed to take any risks. He rode within himself to finish fourth while Dickson swept all eight Sunday tests to claim the final Pro Enduro victory of 2026.

Ruprecht secured the championship with 249 points, 28 clear of McMahon, with Dickson third on 210. The title completed a Pro Enduro and E2 double for Ruprecht after he had led both competitions from the opening round.

Cooper Sheidow secured E1, McMahon successfully defended E3, Jess Gardiner claimed a record-extending 10th EW crown and Kai Austin emerged from a three-rider contest to win EJ.

The other 2026 class champions were Harley Hutton in J4, Levi Rossi in J3, Ollie Paech in J2, Clancy Stewart in J1, Lorna Lock in JG, Rowan Pumpa in EM and John Day in EV.

Coonalpyn also brought down the curtain on the existing E2 and E3 categories. Those classes will be absorbed into the all-capacity Pro Enduro competition in 2027, while E1 will be renamed Pro Lites.

AusEnduro Pro Enduro

McMahon had kept his championship hopes alive by winning the previous round at Kempsey, but Saturday’s performance in Coonalpyn took the contest to another level.

The reigning Hattah Desert Race winner was completely at home in the deep sand, completing the three-hour cross-country in 3:14:39.242. He defeated Dickson by 1:57.191, with Lock 3:59.546 behind the winner in third.

Mason finished fourth, while Ruprecht struggled to find his usual rhythm and crossed the line 7:53.850 behind McMahon in fifth.

That result lifted McMahon to 221 championship points and reduced Ruprecht’s lead to 10, 231 to 221. McMahon still required a substantial points swing on Sunday, but Ruprecht’s difficult Saturday had demonstrated that such an outcome was possible.

The complexion of the contest changed completely when McMahon crashed heavily during Sunday’s opening test and he did not contest the remaining seven sprints and did not score for the round.

Dickson took command in McMahon’s absence and was fastest through each of the eight tests. He completed the day ahead of Lock and Jake Henderson.

Ruprecht finished another 3.753 seconds behind Henderson in fourth. That was more than enough to secure the championship, which he won with 249 points from McMahon on 221 and Dickson on 210. Sheidow was fourth on 177, three points ahead of Lock.

Wil Ruprecht

“I hope Korey is okay and congratulations to him on a great season. He was riding well this weekend and unfortunately went down in the first test, so it’s not the way I wanted to win it. Once he was out of racing, there was no point doing anything silly, so I rode at a comfortable pace and worked my way through the day. My goal at the start of the year was to win both classes, and it feels good to make that a reality.”

Ruprecht led Pro Enduro from the opening round and won seven of the 11 rounds ultimately contested following the cancellation of Round Two at Roma. After narrowly missing out to Daniel Milner in 2025, that season-long body of work delivered the crown in 2026.

AusEnduro Pro Enduro Round 11 Results

AusEnduro Pro Enduro Round 12 Results

AusEnduro Pro Enduro Final Standings – Top 30

E1

Cooper Sheidow arrived at his home-state finale holding a 29-point advantage over Jeremy Carpentier and wasted no time converting it into his second E1 championship.

Sheidow won Saturday’s cross-country 3:01.596 ahead of Carpentier. Jackson Versteegen completed the podium, only 18.215 seconds behind Carpentier after more than three hours of competition.

That result secured Sheidow’s championship with Sunday still to run, but there was no sign of him easing back during the final round.

Carpentier kept the pressure on throughout Sunday’s eight sprints, with Sheidow eventually prevailing by just 5.534 seconds. Jett Yarnold was third, 12.787 seconds behind the winner, while Versteegen and Madoc Dixon completed the top five.

Sheidow finished the season on 261 points, 35 clear of Carpentier. He won seven of the 11 rounds contested and did not finish outside the E1 podium all season.

The tightest battle was for third in the championship. Luke Chellas produced a 4-6 scorecard in Coonalpyn to finish on 172 points, just one ahead of Stefan Granquist, who returned to competition and went 5-8.

It was Sheidow’s second E1 title following his first in 2023. He also becomes the final champion under the E1 name before the category transitions to Pro Lites in 2027.

AusEnduro E1 Round 11 Results

AusEnduro E1 Round 12 Results

AusEnduro E1 Final Standings – Top 30

E2

Ruprecht’s E2 position was considerably more secure than his Pro Enduro lead. He entered Coonalpyn 48 points clear and required little more than a finish on Saturday to wrap up his first Australian class championship since winning E1 in 2017.

Although fourth was not the result he wanted from the cross-country, it was sufficient to place the title beyond reach with one round remaining.

Dickson dominated the E2 competition on both days. He defeated rookie Kogan Lock by 2:02.355 on Saturday, with Liam Mason third and Ruprecht fourth.

The DM31 Racing KTM rider repeated that result during Sunday’s sprints, this time finishing 1:12.190 ahead of Lock. Jake Henderson secured third, only 5.657 seconds behind Lock, with Ruprecht fourth.

Dickson had arrived in South Australia two points behind Lock, but consecutive victories allowed him to reverse that deficit and secure second in the championship. Ruprecht finished on 258 points, followed by Dickson on 222 and Lock on 218.

Only two points separated Oliver Paterno and Henderson in the contest for fourth, with Paterno prevailing 168 to 166.

Alongside his Pro Enduro success, the E2 crown completed Ruprecht’s championship double and made him the final E2 title winner before the class is absorbed into the revised Pro Enduro structure for 2027.

AusEnduro E2 Round 11 Results

AusEnduro E2 Round 12 Results

AusEnduro E2 Final Standings – Top 30

E3

McMahon began the finale with a perfect E3 record of nine victories from nine starts, and his performance on Saturday suggested the clean sweep was destined to continue.

His 3:14:39.242 cross-country time put him 12:44.969 clear of Max Midwinter. Riley Graham was classified third and Harrison Baker fourth.

The victory was McMahon’s 10th consecutive E3 win and secured his second successive class championship with Sunday still to come.

However, the opening-test crash that ended his Pro Enduro challenge also prevented him from completing an undefeated E3 campaign. McMahon completed that test in 9:43.582 before withdrawing and did not score in Round 12.

Graham took full advantage to claim the final E3 victory of the season in 47:49.418. Midwinter finished 21.155 seconds behind in second, with Baker completing the podium.

McMahon nevertheless secured the championship with 250 points, 16 ahead of Midwinter. Broc Grabham finished third on 148, followed by Max Rikys on 142 and Trent Puddy on 122.

It was McMahon’s fourth Australian enduro title and made him the final E3 champion before the category is incorporated into Pro Enduro in 2027.

AusEnduro E3 Round 11 Results

AusEnduro E3 Round 12 Results

AusEnduro E3 Final Standings

EJ

Only six points covered Kai Austin, Bjorn Cardenas and Marcus Nowland after Kempsey, leaving all three with a realistic chance of taking the EJ championship.

The first major twist came during Saturday’s cross-country when Cardenas failed to finish, while Oscar Harris broke through for his first round victory of the season.

Harris completed the race in 3:33:59.619, defeating Austin by 40.833 seconds. Jackson Rossi was only another 1.335 seconds behind Austin in third, with Harry McDonald and Archie Salopayevs completing the top five.

Austin’s second place, combined with Cardenas’ DNF and Nowland’s sixth, gave the Empire Kawasaki rider a 13-point advantage over Nowland ahead of Sunday.

Rossi then controlled the final sprint round, stopping the clocks at 49:31.842. Cardenas rebounded strongly to finish second, 12.672 seconds behind Rossi, while Austin’s third place was enough to secure the championship.

Austin completed his first season in the 16-U18 EJ category with 217 points. Nowland held second on 196, only two ahead of Cardenas, with Harris fourth on 185 and Rossi fifth on 163.

The result reversed the leading order from the 2025 J4 championship, when Nowland took the title ahead of Austin.

AusEnduro EJ Round 11 Results

AusEnduro EJ Round 12 Results

AusEnduro EJ Final Standings

EW

Jess Gardiner’s landmark 150th AusEnduro start proved more difficult than anticipated, with a heavy crash and motorcycle problems threatening to complicate her pursuit of a 10th EW championship.

Rachael Archer was in a class of her own during Saturday’s cross-country. The New Zealander completed the race in 2:18:12.986, finishing 4:59.973 ahead of Yamaha motocross racer Emma Milesevic.

Madi Simpson was third, while Gardiner salvaged fourth despite her troubled day. That reduced Gardiner’s championship advantage over Simpson from 18 points to 16 ahead of the final round.

Any prospect of a Sunday upset was quickly subdued when Gardiner settled into second behind Archer. The New Zealander completed the eight tests in 54:20.835, defeating Gardiner by 32.619 seconds.

Milesevic finished third, with Simpson fourth and Madison Healey fifth. The result completed an undefeated four-from-four 2026 cameo for Archer.

Gardiner’s second place increased her final championship advantage to 20 points. She completed the season on 251, Simpson finished with 231 and Healey secured third on 192, five points ahead of Emelie Granquist.

For Gardiner, it was a record-extending 10th Australian women’s enduro championship, achieved 16 years after making her national debut in 2010.

AusEnduro EW Round 11 Results

AusEnduro EW Round 12 Results

AusEnduro EW Final Standings

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