Following six seasons contesting EnduroGP, former E2 world champion Wil Ruprecht made a high-profile homecoming in 2025 and did the double with victories on both days in Kyogle last weekend. It was the slower speed, added technicality on a harder track surface that all played into his favour following an extended stint in Europe.

Upon reuniting with the ShopYamaha Off-Road Racing team in the E2 category this year, the transition has yielded solid results, although his move to return home hasn’t been without its challenges.

There is a sizeable difference between the type of enduro contested domestically and internationally, with the consensus being that certain series in the United States mirror what is found in Australia, but in the world championship, technical layouts are more prominent than high-speed, motocross-style competition.

Given the difference, it has taken the 27-year-old some time to adjust, with Kyogle’s victory indicating that the performance is there on the hardpack, technical surfaces. It was a different story from the softer, higher-speed tracks that we’ve seen earlier in the series.

Image: Foremost Media.

“I guess this year it was always going to be tough coming from Europe, where I’ve ridden maybe 20 hours of sand in the last half a dozen years,” Ruprecht told MotoOnline. “Even before I went there, I was never a sand specialist, so I knew I was going to be starting on the back foot. Instead of getting podiums with seconds and thirds, I was getting more like fourths and fifths, which really put me backwards in the championship.

“It’s hard when you have such good performances throughout the year, and I think myself and everyone expects me to be in the championship hunt right down until the last day of competition. It’s kind of hard to see that championship written off prematurely.”

Ruprecht’s two Pro Enduro wins last weekend in the double Sprint format did propel Ruprecht back into contention for this year’s title, as he shrank the overall gap to series leader Daniel Milner (KTM DM31 Racing Team) to 25 with two rounds left to run. In the E2 division, the gap is slightly smaller, with 21 markers between the pair.

In competing against one of Australia’s most decorated off-road stars – who is going for a record sixth outright title – Ruprecht knew that he’d always have a fight on his hands, irrespective of what the track or location offered.

Image: Foremost Media.

“Kyogle was kind of proof of what I knew the team and I were capable of at hard-pack rounds this year, at least,” he added. “Last time we were on hard-pack, we got touched up quite badly by Milner, and we went back to the drawing board and addressed a few things.

“Not that the bike was bad by any stretch of the imagination, but Daniel Milner is just one of the best guys Australia has ever produced when it comes to enduro racing.

“We had a big task ahead of us, but I think we’ve found a few one-percenters here and there with the bike that really allow us to be competitive. It opens up the bike’s window – it’s a broader bike now, which is quite important for enduro racing.”

In assessing his performance in Kyogle, it was the additional technical elements that contributed to his success, with the track at least somewhat resembling the type of racing he completed in Europe.

Image: Foremost Media.

“Kyogle is the most technical round we have here in Australia and, although I would consider myself a hard-pack guy, generally the more technical it is, the better I go,” he continued. “Even when I was racing the Australian Enduro Championship before I went to Europe, I was always riding tracks that were tailored to the European style of racing.

“It was never so much the motocross-style stuff that a lot of the other guys trained on, so I guess that just goes hand-in-hand, and my years of experience in Europe work really well at a place like Kyogle.”

As for this year’s championship, those wins in rounds nine and 10 offered a shot in the arm for his title prospects, although there is still a way to go if he is to actually claw his way back and defeat the ever-consistent, ever-competitive Milner. As a result, attention will shift to achieving victory in the individual remaining rounds, and letting the rest unfold behind him.

“It is enduro – anything can happen,” he said. “I don’t wish it on my competitors, but stranger things have happened, and they’ve happened to me, so they can happen to anyone, I guess. I think just with Milner’s age and experience, he’s not going to do anything silly now, and I think he’ll be able to manage this championship and get it across the line.

“But from my side, I’m just going to do everything I can to put myself in a position to be winning, and I guess it’s very simple. My job – I don’t look like I’m going to win this title – but at the very least I can go out there, put my best foot forward, try and win, and then if an opportunity presents itself, hopefully I’m in the right spot.”