Tough test for off-roaders

By Marc McGowan
THREE local off-road motorbike riders will take on one of the sport’s toughest challenges in Austria next week.
Pakenham’s Mark Portbury, 23, and Warragul pair Dean Minichello, 30, and Travis Cooper, 14, will compete in the Erzberg Rodeo enduro race.
Frankston’s Martin Orchid, 49, is joining the trio at the four-day event.
They will be among the roughly 1500 riders trying to book one of the 500 spots in the race.
Only 29 of the 500 qualifiers completed the 2008 Erzberg Rodeo in the four-hour time limit.
Qualifiers start in rows of 50, with the fastest competitors at the front.
Portbury is returning for a second crack at the gruelling annual event after reaching 14 of the 16 check points last year and hopes to become the first Australian to finish.
Cooper and his father, Steve, attended the race in support of Portbury last year, but Erzberg Rodeo officials have granted the teenager special permission to compete this time around.
Cooper is currently ranked number-one in the Victorian and national junior 250cc class championships.
Steve, a three-time Victorian quad bike champion and part of the 15-strong support crew, said his son will be the youngest competitor in the race’s history if he manages to earn one of the 500 places.
“It’s a senior event, but they’ve sort of gone on his profile here in Austria and said they are willing to give him a go,” he said. “It helped that he’s been there already and isn’t going in blind. The stuff he’s done here is probably scarier just because of the speeds involved – he’s got a good head on his shoulders and has been to a lot of events with us since he was a kid.”
Both Orchid and Minichello will also make their debuts at the event.
Steve has high hopes for all four competitors and revealed his son’s lofty goal is to beat three-time Australian off-road champion AJ Roberts’ effort from last year.
“Travis’ dream is to get to checkpoint eight – just a bit further than AJ Roberts!” he said.
The Erzberg Rodeo runs from 11 to 14 June.