Image: John Pearson.

Husqvarna Enduro Racing Team’s Daniel Sanders is targeting a first-career Yamaha Australian Four-Day Enduro (A4DE) win outright when the 40th anniversary event takes place in Cessnock, New South Wales, between 4-7 April.

The 2016 Australian Off-Road Championship (AORC) winner has never clinched the overall victory in the A4DE and is determined to turn that fact around upon return home aboard the factory-prepared Husqvarna FE 450.

Sanders has a best result of third outright when the A4DE was staged in Tasmania during 2015, but could only manage fifth outright in Victoria’s 2016 four-day. Still, that was enough to win the E3 class overall prior to departing for Europe.

“Being the 40th anniversary of the four-day it will be an important one to win and a lot of past champions will be there for the milestone occasion,” Sanders explained. “I haven’t won the A4DE outright before, so it’s definitely on the list to do and coming off of a win in the AORC last time out, I have a good feeling knowing that I can be at the pointy-end.

“Anything can happen over four days, so I have to make sure myself and the bike make it through the first three days and then we can look where we’re at heading into the final day. It will be a big event and I’m really excited to go into race-week.”

Sanders stole the show at Gympie’s opening round of the AORC earlier this month, dominating E2 and carding the unofficial outright victory in round two to break the elusive winning-streak of current number one plate-holder Daniel Milner – the four-time A4DE winner who replaced Sanders within KTM’s factory program when he departed for EnduroGP last season.