CASTERTON is set to welcome Victoria’s top bike riders when the Sporting Motorcycle Club hosts rounds seven and eight of the Victorian Off-Road Championship this weekend.

Leading the championship coming into the weekend is Andy Wilksch, following another win in rounds five and six at Edenhope last month – he sits 38 points clear of second-placed William Price at 150 points in the pro class.

Mr Wilksch, from Great Western near Stawell, is no stranger to the Casterton area, having won the Boss of Blueberry Hill Climb title in 2019 and appeared in Dunrobin in May to coach local riders.

He said he had great experiences riding in Casterton and was looking forward to the weekend’s events.

“It should be exciting – it’s good to see the community getting behind the racing,” he said.

“It’s really great to see the Casterton club putting a lot of effort in behind this event and I think it’s an exciting time of the year.”

Mr Wilksch quickly established himself as one of the best riders on the enduro circuit this year, after an 18-month stint competing and training alongside the world’s best riders in Europe.

He said his time in Europe had made him appreciate local country tracks more.

“It’s really hard to find any of that in Europe,” he said.

Of the track at Edenhope last month, Mr Wilksch said its variety was “really cool” to race on.

“Usually if we go to a property that has sandy soil, it’s only sandy soil,” he said.

Rounds seven and eight of the Victorian Off-Road Championships will be held on Saturday, 18 June and Sunday, 19 June at 680 McCalman’s Road at Corndale.

The club’s Shane Foster said his team was looking forward to hosting the championships again, with local riders getting in some practice at ‘The Hut’ track on Monday.

Around 100 junior and senior riders took on the damp conditions in preparations for this weekend’s championship meeting and Foster said the local kids were excited to once again have a rider of Wilksch’s calibre, at their home track, after the championship leader headed to Dunrobin for a ride and coaching weekend, last month.

“There wasn’t a rider or spectator who wasn’t in awe of the speed and control he showed on the big Simford Husqvarna, as the led the riders around the three-kilometre circuit,” Foster said.

This weekend’s event is catered with full amenities at the venue and spectators are welcome, trackside.

For more information, visit the Casterton Sporting Motorcycle Club’s Facebook page.