A fire in the early hours of 7 April destroyed the King Valley Motorcycles workshop and office building, taking with it the entire Motul Pirelli Sherco Factory Team race bikes, spares and pit setup.

The race team bikes and equipment had been prepared in the facility owned by Dave Suter for the upcoming Australian Off-Road Championship (AORC) in Portland, New South Wales.

“It’s been a rough few days for the Team,” said team manager, Stephen Tuff. “We’re all just so upset for Dave Suter and his family. Dave is a massive part of our team.

“He’s not just a fantastic mechanic, he’s the experienced, cool head that makes the right moves for our Team. He’s worked super-hard getting our race bikes as good as any you will find. The fire has wiped out our team infrastructure and Dave has lost his livelihood.”

Despite the huge challenge of getting to Portland for rounds three and four of the AORC, the team worked hard to pull together bikes and enough equipment to go racing.

Factory Team riders Justin Carafa and Wil Ruprecht alongside Academy Team riders Jai Wedlock and Baylee Davies took on the task and made do with the equipment available for the event.

Under 19 competitor Wil Ruprecht, riding a borrowed Sherco 300SE-R, dug in and quickly adapted to the 300cc two-stroke to pull off third and second place finishes over the two days of competition.

“It was a huge effort from Jai, his Dad and Tuffy getting the Team up and running,” said Ruprecht. “It was tough but we worked together and in the end I had a fun weekend of racing.

“The 300 is a lot different to the 450 I usually race but I adapted to it quickly. I’m only four points off the championship lead and I’m pumped for the next round.”

For fellow factory Sherco rider Justin Carafa it wasn’t such a successful weekend as he struggled in the tricky conditions throughout the two day event.

“It was like riding on marbles for me,” Carafa explained. “I just couldn’t gel with the tracks so I pushed harder then crashed. Then I rode too cautious. But it is what it is so I’ll just have to do better at the next round.”

The Motul Pirelli Sherco Factory Team will continue to rebuild their program before heading to rounds five and six of the AORC in South Australia on 23-24 April.