There’s nothing like a good road trip with your mates – even more so when a dirt bike race is the destination! Last Saturday, the Melbourne Enduro-X was not only the off-road season kickoff for 2012, but it really helped put the talent of our riders into perspective for the public.

Showcasing Australia’s best enduro pilots going bar to bar on a world-class track, the atmosphere was electric, the obstacles were extreme and the prize money on offer not only fuelled the intensity, but paid homage to the level of professionalism that our top off-road teams operate at.

I hooked up with the Motorex KTM Off Road boys for the trip down, which was convenient given I needed some last-minute bits and pieces for my KTM 350 EXC-F. Chris Hollis shared the driving with me, while Toby Price and head team mechanic, Mick Carusi steered the race van south.

There’s a very cool dynamic among the KTM boys in terms of how relaxed, friendly and supportive each other are of their whole team. All the way down the Hume Highway it was a constant affair of piss-take antics.

Whether it was over a lame song choice on the stereo or some rubbish snack at the servo, the jokes and abuse were echoed all the way to Melbourne in a rally of SMS ping-pong. And trust me, when Hollis and Price aren’t turning throttles, they’re fumbling their iPhones like it’s an addiction.

As for Wonka (Brad Williscroft), the team boss (who at times featured in the SMS piss-take), he was on the VIP program and met the boys down in the pit area on race day. That was my cue to separate from the team, for the simple fact Wonks and I were set to do battle in the Over 35s class and our friendship would go on hold immediately after rider’s briefing. At least that’s how he prefers it.

I do most of my riding and training down at Bradley’s compound because it’s basically the closest place for me to ride a dirt bike outside of where I live in Sydney. And, given we’d been practicing extreme stuff in lead up to the event, he saw me as his biggest threat on the day.

The only problem was the fact there was prize money at stake and I know too well it would take a big effort to deny Bradley of first place. As it turned out, we gave the crowd a pretty good show with our battles and, despite getting the holeshot on my KTM 350EXC-F in the final, the crafty old dog made a clever pass on me going into the third lap to stay strong across the finish for the win.

As for the Pro Class, you can read the full story in the next issue of ADB magazine, but let’s just say there was a whole new level of SMS ping-pong going on as our KTM Enduro-X juggernaut headed back into NSW with $9300 worth of prize money.