Sherco Australia press release:

The 12-round 2015 Australian Off-Road Championship has commenced with rounds one and two held at Kilkivan, Queensland over the weekend. Motul Pirelli Sherco Enduro Team welcomed former motocross champion, Errol Willis to the enduro racing scene with a guest ride for the opening rounds. The 21 year old from Wagga

Wagga, NSW took the bush on a Sherco 300SE-R two-stroke alongside team mate Broc Grabham who headlines the team for the AORC season aboard the Sherco 450SEF-R.Grabham kicked off proceedings for the 2015 season with smart, consistent riding on the hard and dry tracks that snaked up and down hills, across fast paddocks and rocky creeks.

“It was a good couple of days racing,” stated Grabham. “I tried to stay consistent for the opening rounds because in the past I’ve been slow starting in early rounds. It was good to get some consistent fast laps in. My first lap on Sunday was my fastest and that never happens to me.

I’m working on concentrating on the track a lot more and working on focussing on my job. It was great. The 450 was awesome. The power is sick. On the grass track sections I had so much fun. Looking at my times, they didn’t vary too much. Being hot and cold is no good and if I can get more practice on rough tracks it will only make me faster.

Kilkivan was rough and at times I had both wheels off the ground doing well over 100kmh which was scary. It made me hang on too tight which was hard work. I’ll definitely improve for the next two rounds.”Taking his first enduro racing experiencing in his stride, Errol Willis conceded that AORC racing is not what he expected. The former motocross campaigner said, “It was a steep learning curve.

I need to use the experience to do some homework and try and improve. It was a lot different to what I expected. Saturdays track was more grass track and very fast. The change in terrain wasn’t an issue until I got the technical areas and that’s where I struggled. Not knowing what technique to use and what speed to attack the more technical obstacles is where I am lacking.”

Despite a bunch of small crashes on Saturday Willis returned on Sunday appreciating the welcoming nature of racing enduro.“Sunday was good fun,” Willis beamed. It went from sand to hard pack and open areas The vibe in the pits is laid back and chilled. All the racers are there to have a good time and were very helpful and welcoming but it’s also very competitive. It’s like a 180 to MX.”