ADB Magazine

ADB's Mitch Lees is joined by co-host Jeff Briggs and special guest Yamaha's Wil Ruprecht, who has won every round of the Australian Enduro Championship in 2026, to discuss everything that happened at QMP on the weekend and all the things that might hav happened you probably didn't know!

The Wildwood Rock Extreme Hard Enduro has become a point score round of the World Hard Enduro Championship but what does that mean of local Aussies racing the series? We sit down with Wildwood Event Manager Steve Braznell who explains the Pros and Cons of becoming a point score round, how it all came about, what it means to Australia's best hard enduro event and how you can get in on the action. 

ProMX Rd3 winner, Honda's Kyle Webster joins ADB's Mitch Lees and Jeff Briggs as well as ProMX commentator Danny Ham to break down the weekend of racing in Gillman, South Australia. Hear all the things you may have missed as Kyle talks about finally breaking Jed Beaton's win streak.  

How similar are the Yamaha YZ450F and Triumph TF450-X? Both have KYB suspension and both have alloy frames so we put the up against each other to find out. Hint, they're nothing alike....

If a neck brace could save your life, why doesn't everyone wear one? Do they hinder movement and vision or just transfer a potential injury to another part of the body? ADB's Mitch Lees caught up with founder of Atlas Braces, Brady Sheren, to talk about neck braces and why they believe everyone should wear one. They talk about the myths and stories regarding neck brace injuries and provide data and analytics on how a neck brace can prevent a catastrophic injury. 

We’ve got Hamish Macdonald on the podcast and if you follow EnduroGP, you know how fast this bloke is!The Kiwi has built one of the most complete careers in modern enduro, climbing the ladder the hard way. He’s a former Youth World Champion (2019), backed it up with the Junior World Championship in 2020, and has now gone all the way to the top, claiming the 2025 Enduro3 World Championship with Sherco Racing Factory. That makes him a three-time world champ across three different classes, which is no small feat in a sport this stacked. What stands out with Macdonald is how methodical his rise has been. He’s been consistently in the mix in EnduroGP for years, podiums, top-three finishes, and battling factory teammates week in, week out before finally cracking that senior title. In this episode, we get into what it actually takes to go from a fast junior to a world champion in the toughest off-road series on the planet the mindset, the grind, and what separates the good guys from the ones holding the #1 plate.

We grabbed the 2026 Yamaha TT-R110 to see if it is the most versatile bike on the market. Can a 6, 8, 10, 12 and 40 year old ride the same bike! We put it to the test, here's what we thought. 

ADB's Mitch Lees caught up with ProMX commentator Danny Ham and Boyd's Moto Racing's Matt Boyd to talk about all the stuff that happened at Round 3 of the 2026 ProMX Championship on track and behind the scenes off the track. 

We put a 6 year old and a 10 year old on the Surron Hyper Bee to see how it goes in the 50 cos and 65 class because this one bike can ride in two classes if you switch the wheels from 10/12-inch combo to 12/14 inch combo. Would the hyper Bee be too much bike for a kids int he 50 class or would it be too slow for a kid in the 65 class. We ask our 50 and 65 tester to find out. 

ADB's Mitch Lees caught up with one-time Australian Supercross Champ Kale Makeham to talk about his rivalry with Lynchy, his life after racing and how he built his multi-million dollar online coaching business, the dark times he went through after he retired from professional racing and more.

ADB's Mitch Lees is joined by co-host Jeff Briggs and special guest Geoff Braico, who won the Vets class at Round 3/4 of the Australian Enduro Championship, to discuss everything that happened at Dungog on the weekend and all the things you probably didn't know.  

We grabbed the now-registered Kawasaki KLX300 and took it for a spin. We trail rode it, commuted on it and went for a bit of an adventure ride on it. We tested this bike back in 2021 but you could not register it back then, now you can which has opened it up to a whole new category of rider. Here's what we thought of it. 

We put the registered RFN Ares Endurance electric dirtbike to the test on a bunch of different terrains from commuting to trial riding and farm work. After nine months with this bike it is clear to us this bike is not a competition-spec dirtbike like the $20k job from Europe and Japan but a great trail bike, commuter and farm bike. Have a listen. 

We jumped on the 2026 KTM 300 EXC and as it turns out, KTM in Europe undersold this bike climbing there weren't many changes for 2026 when there actually were. There's been a bunch of motor and suspension changes but the biggest news is the final gearing which i now a 14/42! We took it into the hard enduro stuff and somehow it worked! Here's what we thought. 

As a professional racer, the COVID pandemic killed plenty of promising careers. With racing in Australia essentially on hold for almost 3 years and no great opportunity to travel overseas and race, professional riders had ton make some hard decisions. There was the hotel isolation, the expensive flights, travel restrictions and more to deal with but through it all Andy Wilksch managed to line up a few different rides in the EnduroGP. It mean being away from his partner and support network for 9 months with a return to Australia not an option considering quarantine time. This is Andy's story and how he pushed through the hardest time in off-road racing history. 

The 2026 Sherco 500 SEF Factory is almost exclusively sold in Australia. It's a bike built for the desert but how does it go in the bush? When Sherco built the 500 years ago they told us "This is Aussie Bike" so we thought we'd hit the Aussie bush on the latest version, the 2026! Here's what we thought of the 2026 Sherco 500 SEF Factory.

We caught up with desert specialist Callum Norton who has just signed with Ducati to race the 2026 Tatts Finke Desert Race! We talk to him about how he went from the #1 KTM team to a brand that has never done Finke, what he's had to do to setup the Ducati to survive Finke plus loads more about his time with KTM, how he transitioned to desert racing and the moment he could've been racing for Kove at Dakar. This is an absolute cracker.

ADB Podcast host Mitch Lees catches up with ProMX commentator Danny Ham and our resident podcast co-host Jeff Briggs to talk all the things that happened   at Rd1 of the 2026 ProMX. It was an epic weekend of racing and lot to catch up on! 

The 2026 Sherco 300 SEF Factory is arguably one of the best mid-capacity four-strokes you can get but how does it stack up against other mid-capacity four-strokes like the 350s? It's won world titles and been successful in Australia against bigger bikes so why is this bike so good? Here's our thought on the 2026 Sherco 300 SEF Factory. 

Jess Gardiner is Australia's most successful female racer, in fact she's our most successful racer across all classes and almost any discipline. We sat down with Jess to talk about round one of the 2026 AEC, how she got into racing, here toughest and best times racing here and overseas, how close she came to retiring and what she has in store for the future. 

We grabbed a 2026 Husqvarna FE501 and stuck our smallest tester we could find, Wes Mills, on it to see what he thought of the big girl in the bush. Is it too much bike for single track? Only one way to find out, give it to Wes! Is it easier to ride in the bush, even for a smaller rider? 

We caught up with ADB's Jeff Briggs to discuss everything that happened at Rd1 and 2 of the 2026 AEC from flooding to, technical tracks and who looked fast after a long pre-season. Briggsy was there racing the Vets for us so got a firsthand account!

We got 4 x Australian Motocross champ Dean Ferris on the Podcast to talk about why he has come out of retirement to ride for Empire Kawasaki in the 2026 ProMX and we also got the chance to ask some fun questions like who was the most intense teammate he veered had and what was the best factory bike he's ever ridden! Among many other chats... this was a fun conversation and Deano has done so much in our sport we agreed to come back and break down his career into 3 serrate podcasts later this year all about his upbringing, time in Europe, time in the US and racing in Oz. But for now, enjoy this overview of Deano's career wit some nuggets of gold you would have never heard of.

We got our South Australian Correspondent Ed Hartley to sit down with Kiwi dirt biking legend Chris Birch to talk all things hard enduro, rally, bike builds and coaching. Birchy is an absolute legend of our industry and we get a good look at what life is like for Birch behind the scenes. 

After our Yamaha v Triumph Enduro comparo last week we were inundated by people asking us to do the same with the motocross machines, so we did! We grabbed the 2026 Yamaha YZ450F and 2026 Triumph TF 450-X and put them against each other on the same track. Lap times, different testers on a hot day. Here's how they differ!

We thought the 2026 KTM was just a 2025 model with new graphics but as it turns out, there's more new on this bike than KTM Europe lead us to believe. Different gearing, different cylinder internals and a bunch of other changes have transformed the 2026 KTM 300 EXC again. Have a listen to that ADB's Mitch Lees and Dirtbike Burrito Podcast's Jeremy Cowley thought of the 2026 KTM 300 EXC. 

After being inundated with letters from readers asking how similar the Yamaha and Triumph enduro models are we decided to grab them and put them up against each other to see how they differ! We got a 2026 Yamaha WR250F and WR450F and a 2026 Triumph TF 250-E and RF450-E and went back-to-back on all four to figure out how they differ and who would suit which bike more. 

In this episode, we get ADB's longest serving tester, Ben Graham on the show to talk about how to set up a bike for the Finke Desert Race. Finke is one of the toughest desert races in the world and requires a very specific setup like no other. Grabbo has won Finke four times plus a bunch of other desert-style races so no one knows Finke setup like Grabbo. If you're going to race Finke or any other desert event, you need to listen to this.  

We got former national motocross Champ Kirk Gibbs on the line to talk about who he thinks is going to do well in the 2026 ProMX Championship across all classes and give us his top 10. We talk about who's been putting in the work and who hasn't during the off season and who the dark horses might be. This is your form guide for the 2026 ProMX Season. 

We sit down with former AORC Champion and current AEC Track Manager, Josh Green, to talk about who's in and who's out for 2026 and who he thinks will be the dark horses. With Daniel Milner retiring, the Championship will have a new Outright winner, who do you think it will be? 

In the first ADB Podcast episode of 2026, Mitch sits down with Motorcycling Australia CEO Peter Doyle to unpack how MA and the state federations actually work, why the sport is weighed down by an “overgoverned” model, and what that means for decision-making, accountability, and the future direction of racing in Australia. Plus, Doyle revealed it costs 3.7 million to insure our sport a year!

Daniel Sanders joins the ADB Podcast for a raw, no-filter breakdown of Dakar 2026, detailing the crash on Stage 10 that fractured his collarbone, re-injured his sternum and left him riding the final days with one arm and a torn groin. Sanders walks through exactly how it happened in the dunes, the split-second decisions that followed, and why quitting was never an option when World Rally Championship points were still on the line. From navigating Dakar’s longest stages and managing bonus time, to surviving the rally in pure damage-control mode, it’s a deep dive into the physical and mental toll of Dakar — and the mindset that separates finishing from folding when the race tries to break you.

Kayden Minear talks candidly about his rapid rise from a WA kid racing sand tracks to living solo in Florida as part of Star Yamaha, explaining how early sacrifices, constant moves, and family support shaped his work ethic. He reflects on leaving Australia young, grinding through MX3 and MX2, and chasing the harder path overseas because that’s where the best racing and long-term opportunities are. Kayden opens up about injuries derailing momentum, the pressure of proving himself on a global team, and how resilience, patience, and self-belief kept him moving forward. 

We sit down with shot Race Wear SRG Air Vest Product Manager Darren Jackson to talk about how their new air vest works, who should use them, what injuries they stop, what's the AI in it, is it built specially for motocross and enduro and what it does differently to other air vests? 

We chat with SX1 Champ Dean Wilson about his dominant season and also talk with Ryder Kingsford about his SX2 title and if he will be riding with his brother on the same team next year. 

We speak with Mobius founder Scott Watanabe about the effectiveness of knee braces and wrist braces and if they will help in the event of a serious knee injury. We also ask him who the wrist brace is actually for? Is it for those recovering from wrist surgery or can it be used as a preventative measure?

In this episode we catch up with Aussie hard enduro freak Will Riordan to talk about Wildwood, the US hard enduro scene and he drops a bombshell on us and announces his retirement live on the show!

We got privateer legend and top-finishing Yamaha rider Dylan wills on the podcast this week to wrap the AUSX Open in Melbourne with supercross commentator Danny Ham, Jeff Briggs and ADB Ed Mitch Lees. Willsy talks about racing the Lawrences, doing the whole track in second gear, lining up with his buddy Matt Moss and admitting to not feeling bad about taking out good mate Hayden Melross if he had to... lol. It's a cracker this week so much insightful stuff so have a listen. 

We sit down with 2025, Dakar Champ, 2025 World Rally Champ and ADB columnist Daniel "Chucky" Sanders to talk about how he went from 8th to 1st in one year at Dakar, what was wrong with he rally bike that he needed to change, what goes on behind the scenes at the Dakar Rally and how it all went down when KTM pulled back on their Rally teams. 

ADB's Tech Ed Mat Boyd has bought a truck and fitted it out to go racing in 2026 under his new name Boyd's Moto Racing. He tells us how to do it and what it will cost you. 

In this episode Will Ruprecht sits down with Mitch Lees and Jeff Briggs to talk about his 2025 AEC campaign, his stints racing for Yamaha, TM and Sherco in Europe and what he had to sacrifice to become a world champion from freezing cold Swedish winters where he had nothing but an old bicycle to get around to 6 hour days on the bike, five times a week in Italy to get his fitness up.   

We catch up with recently crowned 2025 Australian Hard Enduro Champion Wade Ibrahim to learn how he beat the "Factory" riders in 2025 and how a trail rider/off-road racer learned to ride hard enduro and beat the best in Australia. Hint: it involves pulling wheelies down vertical hills!

We catch up with  Supercross commentator Danny Ham to wrap up Round 3 of the Boost Mobile Australian Supercross Championship and discuss an epic night of racing!