Harper returns for Wildwood Rock Extreme

The 2013 Wildwood enduro marks the unofficial start of the Australian Extreme Enduro Season and this year's event will continue the extra meaty lineup of years gone by. 2012 winner, Australia's Matt Phillips, will be up against two of the legends of international extreme enduro, Alfredo Gomez and 2011 Wildwood winner Graham Jarvis, the international pair both riding for the Husaberg Extreme Team.

Harper, who won the inaugural event in 2010, then set the fastest Prologue time in last year's event before DNFing with a broken hand, fractured his T7 and T12 vertebrae in a practice crash in Sweden in April. Since then, the 21-year-old has worked hard to get back to his best, gaining the support of Valley Force and Husaberg Australia in the process. Whether he's back at his best or not, only Sunday's event will tell.

"I'm feeling good and feel like I'm riding well," said Harper, "but where I stand in relation to the best Aussie and international riders I have no idea, so it's exciting for me to get the chance to find out. This will be my first major event since breaking my back and since moving to Husaberg, so I can't wait to get out there.

"It won't be easy, up against two of the world's best extreme riders, as well as Matt Phillips, who won the U23 World Enduro Championship.

"If it's gnarly and wet it will get a lot more technical and Gomez and Jarvis will be a lot harder to catch."

Mitch will be mounted on Husaberg's TE300e throughout the upcoming Aussie Extreme Enduro season.

"It's feeling natural to be on a two-stroke again and the light weight is really good for the rocky and technical stuff. I love the way you can chuck it around like a trials bike in any conditions. It's got 4- stroke-like power but 2-stroke weight."

Steve Brazel, organiser of the Wildwood Rock Extreme Enduro, has added some fast technical sections this year, giving the event a tantalising parity between motocross, enduro and trials. While the Aussies will be hoping for dry conditions, it's likely the internationals will have fingers crossed for rain to make things really tricky.

Wildwood Rock Extreme Enduro runs this Sunday, November 10. More details at www.wildwoodrock.com.

For more information on Husaberg motorcycles, visit www.husaberg.com/au.html.