2019 ISDE Australian Team announced

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After a highly successful outing in 2018 in Chile, the official Team Australia that will head over to compete the 2019 FIM ISDE in Portimao Portugal has been announced, with the event running November 11-16 and this years team tasked with defending two coveted trophies in order to remain the top spot.

Over six days on three different routes, traversing 1,500 kilometres and tackling 10 demanding special tests, Team Australia will go up against more than 30 nations from five continents. Riding on the back of an undeniably successful 2018 in Chile where Team Australia took home the Outright World Champion, World Trophy and Women’s World Trophy, the three teams will call upon a wealth of experience and an invaluable support team as they push both mind and body to the ultimate test.

2018 ISDE Outright Champion, Daniel Milner (KTM Enduro Racing Team), returns again for 2019 riding a currently perfect Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championship (AORC) E2 season. Joining Milner for the second year in a row is speed demon and larrikin, Daniel Sanders (Husqvarna Enduro Racing Team), whose ferocity in the 2019 AORC season as well as appearances in the Pirelli MX Nationals shows no chance of slowing down.

Long-time Australian ISDE competitor, Joshua Green (Active8 Yamaha Yamalube), returns to Team Australia for 2019 atop his Yamaha, bringing a World Trophy win from 2015 and immense AORC experience to the table. Rounding out the 2019 Australian World Trophy Team is Green’s Active8 Yamaha Yamalube teammate Luke Styke. Styke has become the first Australian to win an Australian Motocross, Supercross and AORC title, and will be an extremely valuable asset to the World Trophy Team as they pursue a campaign to protect their winning streak.

Revered as a titan in the ISDE Women’s category, the Australian Women’s World Trophy team returns unchanged from 2018. With six consecutive title wins, these three ladies are one of the most successful Australian female sporting teams, let alone in motorcycling. Two-time Grand National Cross Country (GNCC) Women’s Cross Country (WXC) Champion, Tayla Jones (Husqvarna Motorcycles USA), returns to defend her top spot in the Women’s category, and based on her stunning results so far in the 2019 racing season over in the United States, Jones will be a force to be reckoned with.

Currently pursuing a record breaking five-time AORC Women’s title record and set to land in Portugal for the Australian Women’s World Trophy Team is Jessica Gardiner (Yamaha MX Store Ballards Off-Road Team)! Taking the third and final position in the Women’s World Trophy Team is 2018 ISDE newcomer, Mackenzie Tricker (KTM). Tricker was a valuable team member of the 2018 victorious Women’s World Trophy Team, mounting a KTM, and closed off the her first ISDE event with an impressive finish in 9th place.

Landing in Portugal for Australia’s Junior World Trophy Team will be three familiar faces, who fans will recognise as the 2017 Australian ISDE Junior World Trophy Team. With a plethora of experience under their belts since 2017, Michael Driscoll (Active8 Yamaha Yamalube), Wil Ruprecht (Yamaha) and Lyndon Snodgrass (KTM Enduro Racing Team) will represent Australia in Portimao, Portugal for six gruelling days of what’s fondly coined the “Olympics of motorcycling”.

Driscoll, mounting a Yamaha, will come into November’s festivities with the success of his 2018 AORC EJ Championship title plus strong continued results in the 2019 AORC E1 class. Featuring regularly now in the EnduroGP, Ruprecht will be comfortable in the Portuguese landscape after a strong EnduroGP Portugal with a second-place podium finish on Day 1. Returning to the Australian squad for the third year in a row, Snodgrass will bring experience from both the Junior and World Trophy Teams to support his teammates in achieving glory.

Don Atkins will continue his successful role as the Australian ISDE Team Manager for 2019.

The full official list of the 2019 Australian ISDE squad is as follows:

• 2019 Australian World Trophy Team
  • Joshua Green
  • Daniel Milner
  • Daniel Sanders
  • Luke Styke
• 2019 Australian Women’s World Trophy Team
  • Jessica Gardiner
  • Tayla Jones
  • Mackenzie Tricker
• 2019 Australian Junior World Trophy Team
  • Michael Driscoll
  • Wil Ruprecht
  • Lyndon Snodgrass
• Team Manager
  • Don Atkins

Source: MCNews.com.au