Image: Supplied.

Australian Wil Ruprecht has earned a maiden outright victory on day two of Portugal’s opening round of the 2021 FIM EnduroGP World Championship.

The TM Boano Factory rider, who went fourth outright and third in the E2 class on the opening day, put in a strong performance to emerge as the winner with an eight-second victory over Brad Freeman (Beta Factory Enduro Team) and defending champion Steve Holcombe (Beta Factory Enduro Team).

The 22-year-old admitted the triumph would take a while to sink after what was an incredible start to his 2021 campaign, defeating multi-time champions in some of the most brutal conditions.

“It’s awesome to get my first EnduroGP win, I’m so happy with that,” Ruprecht commented. “Today was a tough day, the tests were so rough after day one. Everyone was on the limit today, pushing for the win.

“Winning in these conditions, against these riders, is crazy and will take a while to sink in what’s just happened. It’s been a brilliant weekend and an incredible way to start the season.”

Ruprecht sits second in the outright and E2 standings as the series heads to the GP of Italy on 25-27 June.