Honda CRF450X - One hell of a bike

Roving Ricks Recap of the A4DE

Another 4 day has been and gone and I’d have to say that it was the best 4 day ever.

Everything was really well organized and everyone from the riders to the team managers were all raving about how good it was.

The special tests that were run on Heffo’s property were just awesome for both the riders and the spectators.

I spent most of my time chasing the top riders from one special test to the other and I had enough time to get shots of the top riders at every single test on every day which is a credit to the organisers for setting it out in such a way that I could get all that in.

Talking about Heffo’s property, he’s got a petition going at the moment to try to get a riding park going so if you can get a hold of it and sign it you would be supporting a great thing there.

The council have been giving them a hard time so they need all the support we can give them at the moment.

It was just amazing to see Riders like Juha Salminen, AJ Roberts and Shane Watts fly around the track so incredibly fast and smooth. These guys have got and incredible amount of corner speed which is something you just have too see with your own eyes to appreciate. They almost looked slow in the photos because they didn’t throw enough dirt in the air. That’s how smooth these guys are.

I met up with the guys from MXOZ out there on the track too and they are putting together a DVD of the 4 day so keep an eye out on the A4DE site for that one soon as you will be able to order a copy through either the A4DE site or the MXOZ site.

The Sargent family from Dirt Bike Promotions and the Heffernan family from Detour and all the other people that helped with the 4 day deserve a huge pat on the back for a job well done. While I’m at it thanks to all the sponsors like Yamaha, Motul, KTM, Motorex, MSC and Red Bull.

I had an awesome time covering the event and if Phelpsy has anything to do with it there’s a good chance I’ll be back again next year to do it all over again at Coffs Harbour.

My next big gig will be the ISDE at Lake Taupo, New Zealand in November, which I am really looking forwards to, so If can’t make it to the event then keep your eye out on eatmydirt for that one.

Cheers

Rick Los. rick@eatmydirt.com.au

Links: MXOZ - http://www.mxoz.com.au/ A4DE - http://www.a4de.com/

Day Four and Juha Salminen wins.

Day 4 and KTM's Juha Salminen wins 99.82 seconds ahead of Yamaha's AJ Roberts 2nd and KTM's Shane Watts in 3rd.

KTM's Brad Williscroft Dropped into 4th spot with Kawasaki Pilot Josh Strang 5th followed by Ballards Yamaha rider Chris Hollis in 6th and Christensen's Yamaha mounted Blake Hore in 7th.

It was a very exciting day at the final moto today as we watched Shane Watts skilfully tear up the track to not only win his class convincingly but also secure himself a podium for third outright for the event.

Juha Salminen was just showed his GNCC winning form as he very smoothly breezed around the track and won the final moto and event outright.

17 year old Josh Strang was very impressive as he blitzed in the final moto and took the win for his class, but the most exciting race of all was the battle between AJ Roberts, Wonka and Grabbo as they fought it out on the track.

Grabbo took the holeshot and held it for a fair way till Wonka faulted and fell in front of him. AJ took the lead and held it all the way to the chequered flag to win the final moto and take second outright for the event.

We hope you've enjoyed our coverage and we'll have full results and an updated gallery online soon. With thanks again to Honda and the all new CRF-450X.

Next year the 4 Day heads to Coffs Harbour NSW, see you there !............

What is it all about ?.

238 Riders including 19 New Zealanders, 1 Finnish KTM pilot and 2 expat Aussies are competing in the Australian 4 Day Enduro (A4DE).

The format of the A4DE consists of 4 days of 5 hours of racing covering a variety of terrain such as river crossings, rocky hill climbs to forestry tracks, with 6 special test to be completed on tight technical circuits as well.

At the end of the day riders have just 15 minutes to work on their bikes before they put them in the compound over night and then 10 minutes in the morning. They are not permitted any assistance on the track so if misfortune strikes they must effect their own repairs with what they have on them.

There is high tension in the pits as the riders are changing tyres, oil filters and making adjustments. The Officials are strict, no pit crew are able to touch any part of the bike, however they are able to fuel, clean numbers and pass tools to the rider.

So the 4 Day is a real test or both rider and machine.

Day Three and Salminen Extends his lead to 75 seconds.

Day Three and KTM's Salminen has extended his lead to 75 seconds over Yamaha's AJ Roberts. Roberts and KTM's Brad "Wonka" Williscroft however are separated by a meagre 0.4 of a second making for a fierce battle on day 4 for the 2nd spot. Shane Watts on his 2 Stroke KTM has swapped into 4th Spot ahead of Ballards Yamaha Mounted Chris Hollis in 5th.

Fine weather has prevailed and Sunday is shaping up perfectly. Despite the sunny conditions Wattsy assures us the there is still plenty of moisture in the ground as you hit the Gullies and Mountains with only the transport sections producing visible dusty patches.

Day 3 results are up and Images yet to come so stay tuned.

Day two and KTM's Salminen maintains his lead.

More great weather with only a little dust saw some hefty competition on Day 2 of the 4 Day enduro. KTM's Juha Salminen again took line honours with Yamaha's AJ Roberts and KTM's Brad Willscroft holding onto second and third respectively.

Again we have the top 25 finishers in the results section with more photo's added to the Gallery for day 2.

Day 3 will see the riders taking on the corkscrew and rainforest track. Stay tuned more to come.

There's heap of new images of the top finishers in the gallery see them all here

Day one Ends with KTM's Salminen in top Spot

Conditions were ideal for day one with #14 KTM import Juha Salminen finishing first and Yamaha's AJ Roberts #32, who forewent his World Endurance Championship ride at the upcoming Italian GP is in second place. Local enduro legend #34 Brad Willscroft KTM in third.

The top 10 has a strong NSW contingent and the top 10 list is in the results section with the a link to the top 25 finishers, click here for the results

There's heap of new images of the top finishers in the gallery see them all here

Perfect Conditions Greet the riders

The weather is perfect for this years A4DE with a bit of rain leading up to the event and a forecast for blue skies to follow. I’ve been out to three of the special tests and the ground is looking excellent. I met Shane Watts out on one of the special tests and he was very modest about the whole thing but we’re really looking forward to seeing him tear up the tracks tomorrow. I’m really looking forward some awesome racing over the next four days and I’ll try my best to keep you up to date with all the action.