Jess Gardiner is one of Australia’s greats. She’s a six-time International Six Day Enduro (ISDE) world champion, a 14 times Australian Off-Road Champion with a recent second in the 2023 World Enduro Championship. Jess’s world championships have been won against the best women in the world at the ISDE, the enduro racing’s version of the Olympics. Gardiner just wrapped the 2023 Argentina ISDE in horrendous 40+ degree, rocky, dusty, crappy conditions. Speaking to Josh Green, also an ISDE World Champ, he was pretty happy not to be there because the conditions were so foul.
Jess is a fierce and tenacious promoter of women’s racing, managing her own team; which includes one of her 2023 ISDE teammates, Danielle McDonald. McDonald, a 16-year-old ISDE rookie, placed second in the individual rankings behind powerhouse American Brandy Richards, an insane achievement and a nod to Gardiner’s ability to recognise and nurture Australia’s future off road racing talent.
READ MORE: Aussie women star on the world moto stage
Gardiner competes more than full-time. Racing enduro, motocross, off-road nationally and internationally, Jess also maintains a full-time job as heavy equipment operator to continue racing. Any male athlete competing at Jess’s level, winning as much as she does, would be on some pretty sweet coin. To be as good as she is most people would need 24/7 to dedicate purely to training, racing, recovery. It’s truly incredible Jess has been able to achieve while holding down a job, running a team and regularly getting on the hustle to raise coin. She’s a champ through and through.
I caught up with Gardiner recently to see what she’d order in for her Dream Garage.
Daily Ride: Yamaha MT-10
I absolutely love the look of the MT-10. I was very lucky to ride a MT-09, which has slightly less cc. I loved it, so easy to ride and in a much more comfortable rider position especially for an enduro girl. I would love to add max torque and engine power with the MT-10 in my dream garage for those days enjoying the beautiful Aussie summer. Adding semi-active electronic suspension, a titanium pipe and high-tech rider aids.
Something Special: Yamaha T7
I would love to be able to add a Tenere 700 to my dream garage. I been lucky enough to ride one once and it is such a versatile machine. To be able to transit on the road systems and hit the dirt roads to explore gorgeous scenery Australia has to offer, right down to throwing it around on some single tracks and trails. This is a great all-rounder machine, especially for an off-road enduro girl. The T7 would be able to keep up with all the adventurous challenges I could throw at it!
Track Toy: Yamaha WR250F
I personally have ticked off one out of these three bikes for my dream garage. I have a WR250F and this would definitely be my choice of competitive machinery. Being an off-road rider I can throw this motorcycle around on the motocross track as well go racing through the trees in the Aussie bush with it. This bike is suited to any type of dirt tracks that I love to spend most my weekends at. Nice and light and plenty of power to manoeuvre around on.
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