News 28 Oct 2012

Milner seals first ever A4DE victory at Warragul for Ballard's Yamaha

The 2012 Yamaha WR450F Australian 4 Day Enduro (A4DE) motored to a thrilling close in Warragul yesterday, with local rider Daniel Milner clinching top honours in front of an appreciative home crowd.

Daniel Milner won his first career A4DE at home this week. Image: Random Images Photography.

The 2012 Yamaha WR450F Australian 4 Day Enduro (A4DE) motored to a thrilling close in Warragul yesterday, with local rider Daniel Milner clinching top honours in front of an appreciative home crowd.

After producing standout performances across four long and muddy days, the Ballard’s Yamaha Off-Road rider dug deep one last time to win the E1 Class final moto and seal the Outright victory with a margin of 1 minute 41 seconds.

2011 Outright champion Toby Price (Motorex KTM Off-Road) delivered a week of gutsy performances to finish second on the Outright standings board, with Italian visitor Alex Salvini (Husqvarna) riding to third.

Milner convincingly swept up the E1 championship title with a winning margin of more than 3 minutes over Salvini and Victorian rider Peter Boyle (Honda).

The E2 championship came down to the final moto, with Tasmanian charger Matt Phillips (Ballard’s Yamaha Off-Road) stepping up the pace at the 11th hour to steal the race and the Aussie title with a margin of just 20 seconds over Glenn Kearney (Husqvarna) and a minute and a half over Josh Green (Active Yamaha Yamalube).

Price picked up the E3 championship title, making his way to the podium ahead of multi World Enduro Champion Stefan Merriman (Ballard’s Yamaha Off-Road) and rising Victorian threat Daniel Sanders (Bolton’s KTM).

Husqvarna’s Damian Smith cleaned up the Veterans class with a clear two minute buffer over Kirk Hutton (Yamaha) and David Fleming (KTM), while Stuart Bennett blitzed the Masters field to take the title ahead of Yamaha riders Derek Grundy and Pete Golding.

Despite finishing sixth in the final moto, which belonged to Queensland dynamo Tayla Jones, Jessica Gardiner (Yamaha) stitched up her third consecutive Women’s championship with more than eight minutes advantage over Tanya Hearn (Pro Rider KTM) and Tamara Gray (Yamaha).

Ballard’s Yamaha Off-Road picked up the Trade Teams Trophy, coming in ahead of the Husqvarna Racing Team and Motorex KTM Off-Road, while the Clubs Trophy went home with Leongatha One over Oyster Bay One and the Dungog Motorcycle Club.

The Junior Teams Trophy was collected by Queensland, who outdid southern rivals NSW and ACT, and the coveted Senior Team Trophy went to New South Wales who topped the board in front of Victoria and Queensland.

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