Kyron Bacon, has turned in a near-perfect performance to dominate proceedings at the 2022 Australian Four Day Enduro (A4DE), winning Outright and the E1 division as well as lead a powerful Yamaha showing, in the prestigious event.
After a four-year hiatus from the off road calendar, the Australian Four Day Enduro was back for 2022 and over 250 of the nation’s best off road riders flocked to Erica in Victoria to contest the event that saw riders compete in 18 special tests, spend nearly 20 hours on the bike and two and a half hours of special test racing in cold conditions. It was a true test and produced a worthy and deserving winner.
19-year old Tasmanian, Kyron Bacon won the event by nearly two minutes over Josh Green and announced his world class credentials. Bacon has been in impressive form in 2022, taking out the opening rounds of the Australian Off-Road Championship (AORC) but was on another level at Erica. Mounted on the WR250F, Bacon took control of the event on day one but it was day two where he really broke his rivals with two special test times that separated him from the pack and established a healthy lead for the final two days.
Bacon showed no signs of nerves and kept his composure throughout the event and finished in glory as he won the final moto test in the E1 division and with it the 2022 A4DE champion in both the E1 and Outright categories.
“Its been a pretty cool week here at Erica and I’m stoked to win this event,” Bacon said. “All four days have been unreal and it’s been so much fun that it’s been like a weeklong trail ride with my mates back in Tassie. The team has been awesome and it was good to have Greeny on the same minute as me as he was able to guide me the whole week. The bike was perfect all week and aside from throwing on some new tyres, we barely touched it.
“Like many of the guys here, I hadn’t done a four-day before, so there was a lot to learn and take in but I really liked this style of racing. With the cold weather and the damp conditions, a lot of the tests reminded me of some tracks I have at home, so I was pretty comfortable in most of the special tests. I had a crash here and there, but no one rides four perfect days, and it’s so good to get the win.
“Thank you to the club for getting this event up and going again and an even bigger thanks to Yamaha and everyone on the ShopYamaha team. I found out this event is about teamwork, and everyone jumped in to help where they could and we all got along so well, making it so much fun,” Bacon concluded.
Teammate, Josh Green, racked up another podium finish with a first place in the E2 division (450cc) and second outright behind Bacon. Using his years of experience, Green was able to keep himself at the pointy end of the field all week using his speed and knowledge to stay ahead do his rivals.
He had to overcome a challenging day two in wet and slippery conditions but rebounded strongly on day three and then lead the final moto on day four before Todd Waters slipped by with a couple of laps to go.
“I’m not sure what makes me happier, getting second for myself or seeing Kyron get the win,” Green laughs. “He is a great kid and riding so well at the moment, so congratulations to Kyron and his family for the effort they put in and winning this event.
“Apart from the cold, it was a great event and the banter with the boys on the trail was all time. With Kyron on my minute, then directly behind us was Todd Waters and Blake Hollis, it was just a lot of fun being out there. I don’t think I will ever let Todd forget that I had him covered in the final motocross test for a few laps and that it probably should be me that runs the red plate in the Pro MX.
“But its great to have the A4DE back on the calendar and the team did an awesome job in preparing for the event and supporting us through it. You don’t get results like Yamaha did this week without a lot of hard work behind the scenes. Thanks to everyone involved and hope the A4DE is back for good,” Green said.
It was also the first A4DE for 18-year-old Blake Hollis and he will benefit from the experience. While disappointed in missing the podium in the E1 class, Hollis showed plenty during the week with fast special test times as he adapted to the conditions.
He finished fourth in class, just 10 seconds from the podium, and ninth outright in a solid A4DE debut. But with just three minutes separating the riders from second through to ninth, there is a lot of positives the rookie can take away from his first event.
“My goal was to finish on the podium in E1 and in the top 10 out Outright, so I got one and just missed the other. I rode pretty well most of the week, just a few things that I need to improve on to get a better result.
“I struggled a bit in the final moto test with some arm pump and then a had a few crashes when it was wet and slippery on day two. But I got through it safely, learned plenty and will be much better for the next one now that I know what I’m in for at 4-day events.
“As the other guys said, it was a fun week and the team did a great job. We are all mates and its good fun cruising around the bush with your buddies.”
Harvey in WA has been announced as the venue for the 2023 Australian Four Day Enduro. Having hosted the event on a couple of occasions previously, the event promises to be bigger and better than ever.
