In light of last weekends Enduro-X in Melbourne, I was impressed to see all the pros make the effort to be there and support an event that could be become a lot bigger in Australia.

It was also an eye opener as to who’s been putting in the effort during the off-season. Aside from the fact Chris Hollis and Toby Price came out swinging and had their own battle for first place, one rider who impressed me was young Mitch Harper from Victoria.

Mitch was the winner of the first running of the Wildwood Rock extreme enduro in 2010 and also put in a solid effort for a gold medal finish at the 2011 ISDE. Still a privateer, Harper shines in tough conditions and manages to keep a cool head under pressure too.

Privateer Mitch Harper will be one to watch this season aboard a Yamaha YZ450F.

He’s made the switch to a YZ450F this year and it’s obvious he’s gelling with the bike’s geometry. He’s definitely found some more speed too, as he lead the first heat race in the Pro class ahead of Toby Price, who just pipped him before the finish. He didn’t have much luck from then on, even tangling with Matty Phillips at one stage and they both went down hard in one of the finals.

While Phillips is set for big things this year, he didn’t have the best run at Enduro-X either. Given he was the only member of the Ballard’s Off-Road team present, it was obvious Matt’s little set up time on the YZ250F he was riding ¬– especially for that style of racing.

The 18-year-old’s speed on a bike is ballistic whenever the terrain allows full throttle aggression, but he seemed to be a little off his game last weekend. Going into his second year with the Ballard’s Off-Road team should see a smarter, smoother and more bush-savvy Matt Phillips evolve for 2012, not to mention he’ll be on the 450, which suits his style.

Matty Phillips' experience should pay off this year, but he struggled at the Enduro-X.

It was unfortunate the newly formed Activate Yamaha Yamalube Racing team of AJ Roberts, Jarrod Bewley and Josh Green didn’t make an appearance at the Enduro-X for the simple fact they are a solid team on paper. With AJ Roberts a three-time AORC champion himself, you can only expect his management of Bewley and Green to bring solid results.

Bewley is without a doubt the teams secret weapon, bringing with him his second place podium credibility from the 2011 Finke desert race. Bewley will no doubt be on a mission this year given the circumstances that left him without another ride on the KTM team. He’ll also be Yamaha’s first real chance of a Finke podium in the last five years.