In another stunning performance from the Queen of Australian Off-Road racing, Jess Gardiner was over five minutes clear of her nearest rivals across the four days and comfortably notched up her seventh A4DE victory.

Mounted on the Yamaha WR250F, Gardiner had no issues along the way and apart from a crash at the start of the event, never missed a beat winning in a total time of two hours and twenty-eight minutes.

“It’s been a really enjoyable four day for me and things have gone smoothly from start to finish,” Gardiner begins. “We worked hard leading into the event and made sure we were prepared and organised and it showed in the results.

“The bike was flawless all week and the tests and trails were fun. It got a bit dusty but it was four days of brilliant sunshine so that was always going to happen.

“Thank you to the event organisers for putting on a great event. We were due to race here in 2020 but it was postponed a couple of times due to Covid but I’m glad the club were able to make it happen, and they did a sensational job.

“My team also worked hard. It was great to have my family here and now with this out of the way, I’m looking forward to getting back to Europe and contesting the next round of the World Enduro Championships,” she ends.

The A4DE also marked the first race of the year for teammate Jeremy Carpentier. Carpentier fell just prior to the opening weekend of the AORC (Australian Off-Road Championship) and broke his wrist so he missed the first few events of the year.

But he was back in action in Harvey and returned in good form to take fifth in E2 and twelfth outright after four days of racing on his Yamaha WR450F. Four days and over 20 hours of riding is always challenging but Carpentier showed plenty of grit and determination to get through the week despite the lack of pre-event preparation.

“The week went as good as I could expect given the circumstances leading up to it. I have been back on the bike for a couple of weeks, so while my speed was coming along, getting fitness back up to where it should be, especially for this race, was going to be the challenged.

“I’m satisfied I was able to get through and get a top five in class. I think it’s a good result and while I would love to have finished top 10 Outright, I was close and my wrist pulled through so I can begin to get some continuity in my riding over the next few months as we return to the AORC,” Carpentier said.

Jess Gardiner