KTM Enduro Racing Team’s Daniel Sanders switch to the 2017 KTM 300 EXC has proven to be instrumental in his championship campaign this year, claiming the outright and E3 title aboard the all-new model at the 2016 Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championship finale in Victoria.

The 22-year-old elected to race the 2017 EXC 300 prior to Monkerai’s ninth round in New South Wales after testing the revamped two-stroke, and ultimately came to the conclusion that it was a far more superior machine than its predecessor.

“We saw all of the write-ups on them earlier in the year, so obviously we were itching to get on one,” Sanders recalled. “I wanted to get on it straight away as I’m racing it at the six-day, so I wanted as much seat-time as possible.”

“Everything was positive straight away with how all of the improvements had worked and the power of the bike – I felt at home straight away on it. There was no pressure for me to race it, but we both [Ben Grabham] thought it was really good, so we had to jump on it as soon as possible,” he added.

In addition to Sanders racing the all-new model, teammate and E2 champion Tye Simmonds also clinched his title aboard a 2017 EXC, making the move over to the all-new 450 prior to Penshurst’s final rounds last weekend.

After a dominating season, Sanders will represent Australia at the 2016 International Six-Day Enduro aboard KTM’s new EXC 300, scheduled to take place in Navarra, Spain, from 11-16 October.