Sherco Australia press release:

Jess Gardiner is steadily building herself up for another huge year of enduro racing and is gaining momentum toward her ultimate goal of another championship. Blistering speed enabled Gardiner to top some special test times which proved to be a great way of spending her 22nd birthday.

Gardiner claimed second place for round one on Saturday but fired off a warning shot by claiming the opening test on Sunday by a healthy margin. There was some incredibly close test times between the front runners of the Women’s class but frustrating mistakes cost Gardiner the results she was hoping for. Championships are won on your toughest days and if this old saying is true, Gardiner is in a good position to succeed.

“Saturday I was riding a bit conservative but I’m happy with how I am placed overall. The tracks were very fast and different to what I’ve been training on. The tracks weren’t all that technical but I had a lot of fun.

“Sunday was the best day. I laid down some really good times and there’s wasn’t much in until I crashed on the final test on Sunday which cost me time and potentially the win. But that’s racing and part of the reason I love it,” Gardiner said after racing.

“Sunday was the best day. I laid down some really good times and there’s wasn’t much in until I crashed on the final test which cost me time and potentially the win. But that’s racing and part of the reason I love it. It’s cool to see the girls are pushing so hard and I’m really looking forward to the next two rounds at Hedley in Victoria where I want to improve my results. I have a couple of free weekends where I’ll be knuckling down to work on some speed.”