The opening two rounds of the Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championship was a weekend of tightly contested racing with thrills and spills at Bulahdehlah, NSW with Toby Price and Daniel Milner topping the standings.
Round 1:
Bulahdelah put on a Saturday special for the first round of the Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championship (AORC). After a damp Friday, any thoughts of a wet track were quickly put to bed as the sun rose to quickly dry up the 15.2 kilometre track to provide a spectacular day of racing in kicking off the 2014 season. With over 270 riders participating in both the NSW and Australian Championships, it was a non-stop action packed day with some standout performances in all classes.
Toby Price (Motorex KTM) made a triumphant return from injury and stamped his authority on the AORC in the first heat of the premier E2 Class, he burned around what was admittedly a fast sprint course in a time of 18:11.156 over 30 seconds faster than second place Josh Green (Active8 Yamaha) who posted 18:54.023, claiming second in the opening heat.
The E3 was dominated by Husqvarna’s Glenn Kearney (Husqvarna Enduro Racing) in all three heats he claimed the top spot, eventually finishing on 49:13.882.
Newcomer to the Motorex KTM Off-road Team Peter Boyle proved a fantastic asset for KTM, he topped the E1 Class in two of the three heats, placing second in the third heat to Tom McCormack (Active8 Yamaha).
Jess Gardiner (Sherco) celebrated her 21st birthday on Friday by edging out Tayla Jones (KTM) in the three heats to finish on top in the Women’s class.
The introduction of the brand new Transmoto 19 & Under class was owned by Daniel Chucky Sanders (KTM) who achieved first in the class and sixth overall for his best results to date in his young career.
Price would finish the day on top overall with a total time of 47:55.596 from the three laps 2014 Enduro-X winner Chris Hollis (CDR Yamaha) made up ground to finish in second overall on 48:45.518. Kearny secured third while returning AORC champion Daniel Milner (CDR Yamaha) had a lot of work to do after finishing 14th overall.
Results – Outright Top 10
Toby Price – Motorex KTM
Chris Hollis – CDR Yamaha
Glenn Kearney – Husqvarna Enduro Racing
Josh Green – Active8 Yamaha
Lachlan Stanford – Husqvarna Enduro Racing
Daniel Chucky Sanders – KTM
Stefan Granquist – Active8 Yamaha
Peter Boyle – Motorex KTM
Tom Mason – KTM
Tom McCormack – Active8 Yamaha
Round 2:
Tom McCormack (Active8 Yamaha) came storming out of the gates in the first lap and placed himself first in the E1 class, shuffling round one’s leader Peter Boyle (Motorex KTM) to second place, McCormack held the lead in all four laps, finishing the day in first from Boyle and Scott Keegan (Husqvarna Enduro Racing) in third.
In the E3 class, Glenn Kearney (Husqvarna Enduro Racing) threatened to pick up where he left off yesterday when he was fastest in the opening loop, ultimately though, Jarrod Bewley would clinch the top spot for team (Husaberg) followed by Kearney and Geoff Braico (Husaberg)
In the Women’s division, Tayla Jones (KTM) went to first switching places with Jess Gardiner (Sherco). Jemma Wilson (Yamaha) improved on her round one performance to clinch the third podium position. The three women are sure to play out an exciting battle throughout AORC 2014!
The Transmoto 19 & Under class was again dominated by Daniel Chucky Sanders (KTM). He put a stamp of authority on the class by claiming first in both rounds this weekend, round two saw him over 40 seconds faster than second place Kane Hall (Redline Motorsports) with Broc Grabham (KTM) in third.
It was a dramatic day in the premier E2 class on Sunday. After the first lap many thought yesterday’s number one overall Toby Price (Motorex KTM) would carry on his winning performance after claiming first in lap one. However a vastly improved performance by Daniel Milner (CDR Yamaha) quickly closed the gap between himself and Price.
A crash from Price in lap three saw Milner make up a huge amount of time as Price returned to the pits and made a brave decision to race in the final lap of the day. However common sense prevailed and Price, clearly in immense pain, retired less than a kilometre in to the lap.
It was a bittersweet victory for Milner who quickly checked on Price’s health after the racing was completed. Chris Hollis (CDR Yamaha) was second in the class and Josh Green (Active8 Yamaha) took third.
Overall, Milner claimed top spot followed by another second from Hollis, Bewley, Green and Beau Ralston (Active8 Yamaha) who was one of the surprise packets of the weekend, the former MX rider performed exceptionally well in his first AORC performance.
In the Junior classes, Will Ruprecht took out the J4, Ben Kearns first in J3 and Jarrod Ramsay topped the J2 class.
Results – Outright Top 10:
Daniel Milner – CDR Yamaha
Chris Hollis – CDR Yamaha
Jarrod Bewley – Husaberg
Josh Green – Active8 Yamaha
Beau Ralston – Active8 Yamaha
Tom McCormack – Active8 Yamaha
Glenn Kearney – Husqvarna Enduro Racing
Lachlan Stanford – Husqvarna Enduro Racing
Daniel Chucky Sanders – KTM
Stefan Granquist – Active8 Yamaha
The next two Yamaha AORC rounds (3 & 4) will be held in Queensland over the Easter Weekend on April 19-20 in Boyland.