Toni’s preparation over the past two years has come full circle as she took to the international stage on the 4-6 April to put in a solid performance at the first round of the Maxxis FIM Women’s Enduro World Championship event in Catalunya, Spain. This premier event attracts some of the best female riders in world and it is the first year Toni will compete in all four rounds.

It is always tough to head to a foreign country and only have a few days to prepare to race. Time to walk the Special Tests, setup the bike and test it as well as do race registration and technical control, all has to happen in a few very short days.  Added to that, Toni’s DRD pipe was only 1db over the sound limit so she was forced to race with the standard pipe. It is small things like these and being so far away from home that can put you under even more pressure but that is where the experience counts.

The weekend kicked off with the Friday night KTM Super Test. Toni started off strong but a mistake that forced her into a hay bail and then resulted in her ending up on the wrong side of the track meant she lost a lot of time and finished 12th.

Saturday – Day 1

Toni had a great start to the day with an incredible 6th in the first Extreme Test. It was the first of some very tough Specials. Time penalties and getting stuck behind other riders on climbs pushed Toni back to 10th overall for the day. The previous two years in Spain, Toni had struggled with bike problems and injuries so having finished the first day without any problems was a great start for her.

Sunday – Day 2

She was determined to improve on day one but tough and rough conditions meant she struggled to find her rhythm in the morning. Her hard work had seemed to pay off by the last Extreme Test as she sat in 4th but as racing goes, she got her back wheel stuck for two minutes between some rocks and that meant she dropped back. That result would have given her an 8th overall for the weekend but because of the lost time she ended up with 10th overall and just over eight and a half minutes behind the leader Laia Sanz.

Having gotten through the first event without any problems and with some interesting results that show what Toni’s potential is, she knows exactly what needs to be done to prepare for the next two rounds which take place in Heinola, Finland on 7-8 June and then the following weekend in Enköping, Sweden.

There is no rest for Toni as she dives straight back into the S.A. racing action and heads to Kimberly for the second round of the National Off-Road Championship.

Photo’s courtesy Dirt & Trail.

Thanks to Motorsport South Africa (MSA), Women in Motorsport (WIM) and Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) for their continued support.  

Toni Jardine is supported by the following sponsors:

Roost KTM, Mr. Move Worldwide Botswana, 32Gi, WM Digital Solutions, CrossFit Jozi, DRD, Hyde, Evs, Cycra, XBrand, Jett, Powasol, Rekluse, Kyocera, Hydrapak, Spider, 42 Designs, Maxima Oils, Risk Racing and Klim.

For more information, high resolution images or other media requests contact us:

BendedSpoon Media: [email protected]