Phillips wins world enduro race

If the world enduro scene wasn’t fully aware of Aussie Matt Phillips sublime talent before last weekend, it is now, with the Australian winning a leg of the 2013 junior championship in Argentina on March 23.

In doing so, the Husqvarna-backed Phillips became the first Australian since Stefan Merriman to win a world enduro race since 2006. He’s now second in the junior championship, just 3pts adrift of Italian KTM rider Giacomo Redondi.

"The GP of Argentina has been great for me -- it’s my second world championship event and I got my first ever win on day one. I’m really pleased about that, and have to say a huge thanks to the team for giving me this opportunity and helping me so much,” said Phillips.

“I made a mess of the Friday night SuperTest and lost 13 seconds when I crashed, but I think that actually helped me. I figured I had nothing to lose on day one and by the end of the second lap I’d caught up to the guys at the front of my class. It was close between three of us, but I managed to win by six seconds, so that was great.

“The second day was good. The first couple of laps went well but I had a big crash on the going. I kind of flattened off after that and just couldn’t really charge back to the guy that won. Again things were really close, but I really enjoyed it. This weekend’s been great. I knew what to expect, and really got stuck into the racing. I’m getting on well with the team; I’m just looking forward to the next race in Spain.”

After his breakthrough victory, Phillips finished second the following day behind Rudy Moroni (KTM), while another Australian, Mitch Harper, was fifth and eighth across the weekend.

The next world enduro event is on May 11-12  in Spain -- but not before Phillips returns locally to compete in rounds three and four of the 2013 Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championship in Warwick (Qld) on April 6-7.