Sherco Australia press release:

Australian’s most successful female enduro racer Jess Gardiner has made her return to off-road racing and landed straight back on the podium. Gardiner suffered a broken wrist during a practice crash in June and had been sidelined from racing until last weekend.

Gardiner had not finished off the podium in all six rounds prior to her accident and after missing four rounds recuperating she got straight back to business. Gardiner placed 3rd at the Australian Off-Road Championship penultimate round on Saturday in Monkerai, NSW and backed that effort up with another solid 3rd place at the twelfth and final round on Sunday.

“It was so good to be back racing,” Gardiner said. “Saturday was dusty but really good fun. I’m still working at finding my speed again but I rode okay. Sunday was another story and I had a few crashes which didn’t help but it was good to still get on the podium. My bike was perfect and I just want to spend more time riding it to get back up to speed. ” Gardiner said after the race.

Gardiner’s resilience and on-track consistency saw her finish in 5th place for the Championship. “For Jess to miss four rounds out of 12 and still finish 5th in the Championship is a good result from a frustrating year for Jess. She races to win every time she rolls out onto the track and she was on the podium at every race she entered. That’s not easy to do at any level so she should be proud of herself,” said Sherco Australia’s Stephen Tuff.

With the 2015 AORC season over, Gardiner will now turn her attention towards the International Six Day Enduro in Slovakia, September 7-12. Gardiner is part of the three rider Australian Women’s Trophy Team that will defend their 2014 ISDE win. Gardiner is also the defending outright Women’s Champion at the ISDE, a title she is keen to keep.

On a more local level, Gardiner will contest the Australian Four Day Enduro in Tasmania October 19-25. For more information on Sherco Australia, visit www.sherco.com.au or to follow the progress of the new Motul Pirelli Sherco Enduro Team, visit www.facebook.com/shercomotorcyclesaustralia.