News 21 Oct 2015

Hollis masters tricky A4DE Prologue in Tasmania

Slick conditions result in mixed fortunes for front-runners.

Image: John Hamilton (Mad Dog Images).

Image: John Hamilton (Mad Dog Images).

CDR Yamaha’s Chris Hollis finished as the Outright fastest rider in Tuesday’s Prologue for the 2015 Yamaha Australian Four Day Enduro (A4DE) in Wynyard, Tasmania.

In a day that saw riders complete the Yamaha Prologue test to assist the seeding process ahead of day one on Wednesday, Hollis mastered the slippery conditions confronted by the lead riders to top the E2 class with a 3m39.649s.

In somewhat of a surprise, he was followed in the overall results by Yamaha’s Kirk Hutton (fastest in Veterans class) and Riley Graham (fastest in E1 class) as track conditions improved throughout the day to assist those following the lead pack.

Many Wynyard locals turned out to see hometown hero Matthew Phillips do his thing and the KTM Enduro Racing Team rider didn’t disappoint, with a 3m41.602s to finish the Prologue as the fastest in the E3 class, while CDR Yamaha’s Daniel Milner rounded out the Outright top five to get his quest for quadruple A4DE titles on the trot off to a solid start.

In an illustration of the talent within the female enduro riding ranks at the present stage, Yamaha’s Jemma Wilson had a magnificent day to finish as the clear Women’s class leader and ninth fastest rider overall.

Up-and-coming stars Wil Ruprecht (MX1 Australia Suzuki Off-Road Team) and Ben Kearns (KTM) also received big confidence boosters by finishing in seventh and eighth overall respectively, while David Fleming’s overall placing of 30th saw him qualify as the fastest rider in the Masters class.

Despite the Prologue having no bearing on the Outright result in this event, it was a disappointing day for two-time champion and A4DE favourite Toby Price, who succumbed to a couple of small slip-ups in the tough conditions to finish in 89th overall.

Click here for detailed results

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