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Stefan Merriman takes Yamaha AORC round eight win |
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Stefan Merriman takes Yamaha AORC round eight win |
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Stefan Merriman takes Yamaha AORC round eight win Yamaha rider Stefan Merriman conquered the ‘Gold Rush’ Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championship (AORC) today, taking the Outright and Championship E2 Class victories. The event, held at Wedderburn (Victoria), saw Merriman finish the six ‘sprint laps’ 14-seconds ahead of Toby Price. The 37-year-old from Nelson Bay (NSW) said the track had dried out “quite a bit” since yesterday's ‘mud-fest’. “The track was better today, it started to dry out and get nice and loamy, whereas yesterday it was just slop,” the Ballard’s Wellard Yamaha Team rider said. “Everything today went pretty much to plan. I started off a little bit slow, but then started making some good time on Toby and then managed to win.” Merriman said he had opted to ride the YZ450F in the weekend’s contest, as opposed to his WR450F. He said he made the decision to change machines after “thorough testing” and riding a state round at the venue a few week’s prior, after which he concluded the YZ was better suited to the terrain. “I’ve been racing the WR450F in this series, which is an awesome motorcycle, especially in technical terrain,” Merriman said. “But this course is fairly open, with less challenging obstacles, and I believe the YZ450F is more suited to this type of event. “The YZ helped me a lot, especially today, blasting out of corners, and in the loamy conditions. “It just had a bit more power and it was going really good. “I’m really happy with the bike and the [Ballard’s Wellard Yamaha Off-Road Team], everything’s going great.” Price, of the Motorex KTM Off-Road Team, said he was off his game today, after suffering injury to his eyes when he took his goggles off in yesterday’s grueling cross-country event (round seven of the championship). Price’s teammate, Jarrod Bewley, repeated his results from yesterday’s round seven, coming third Outright and first in GP Industries Championship E1. Victorian (Gippsland) rider, Daniel Milner (of the Christensen’s Motorcycles Off-Road Team) was back on form, clinching fourth Outright and third in Yamaha Championship E2. Fifth and second in E1 went to youngster, Ben Burrell, (Ballard’s Wellard Yamaha). KTM’s Ben Grabham claimed sixth Outright and first in Pirelli Championship E3. Honda rider AJ Roberts came seventh Outright. Yamaha’s Kirk Hutton was eighth, followed by New Zealander Karl Power and 17-year-old Yamaha pilot, Tom McCormack. In the Expert ranks, Ivan Long came first in Expert 1. In Expert 2/3, Amel Cavaler was the winner. Ballard’s Wellard Yamaha’s Geoff Ballard continued his domination of the Championship Master’s category. In Motul Championship Women’s, Caboolture Motorcycle Centre’s Jemma Wilson (Yamaha) was victorious over Ballard’s Wellard Yamaha’s, Jessica Gardiner. Gary Dukes was the fastest Championship Veteran. In Junior Outright, Lachlan Terry finished the top of the ladder, followed by Casey Winston and Broc Brabham. And in Clubman Outright, Thomas Jenner was the winner, ahead of Jacob Deagan and Kodi Burgoyne. The next stop for the championship will be the Barossa Bar Banger on August 7th and 8th at Kapunda (Barossa Valley, SA). The finale, the Boxing Roo Yamaha AORC, will be held September 4th and 5th at Cherrabah Resort (near Warwick, QLD). The Yamaha AORC includes the following Australian Championship classes: GP Industries E1, Yamaha E2, Pirelli E3, RK Chains Veteran’s, Master’s, Motul Women’s and Junior Class 1,2,3,4 & 5 (see supp reg’s for more info), as well as the following support classes: Polisport Expert E1, Endura Expert E2/E3, Clubman E1, Clubman E2/3 and Clubman Veteran’s. Yamaha AORC Round Eight Top-10 Outright 1.Stefan Merriman Yamaha Champ E2 2. Toby Price KTM E2 3. Jarrod Bewley KTM E1 4. Daniel Milner Suzuki E2 5. Ben Burrell Yamaha E1 6. Ben Grabham KTM E3 7. AJ Roberts Honda E2 8. Kirk Hutton Yamaha E3 9. Karl Power KTM E1 10. Tom McCormack Yamaha E1 -- Saturday - Rnd 7 - Price takes ‘mud bath’ Yamaha AORC round win Toby Price has continued his seemingly unstoppable, winning form today with his fourth round win of the 2010 Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championship (AORC). Price, from Singleton (NSW), took the Outright and Yamaha Championship E2 Class victories in extreme, muddy conditions today at round seven of the Yamaha AORC, held near Wedderburn in Victoria. Several riders did not finish the grueling race, with 14 of the 74 senior starters failing to cross the finish line. Stefan Merriman, of the Ballard's Wellard Yamaha team, was one of the riders who failed to finish. Merriman was running a close second to Price before running out of fuel. Price, 22, finished nearly four-minutes ahead of the second-placed rider in the mass-start, cross-country race (Price finished in 2(hrs):47(min), some of the senior field were on their bikes for nearly 3:20.00). “It was pretty crazy. The whole race was muddy, the bike’s copped a flogging today - definitely a tough day in the office,” Price said. “I got heap of mud in my eyes, the left eye’s a bit blurry... other than that it all went really well. “I’ve got some eye drops and we’re trying to fix them up ourselves... I’ll make the decision [whether I’ll race tomorrow] in the morning.” The Motorex KTM Off-Road Team rider kicked off his 2010 season with wins at the opening two rounds of the Yamaha AORC, held at Port Macquarie, on March 13th and 14th. He extended his points lead further with another victory at Moruya (May 29th). Only three rounds of the 2010 Yamaha AORC have been held, heavy rain and storms forcing the cancelation of the Conondale rounds and the second Moruya round (Queensland will still get a slice of AORC action, with the finale now scheduled to be held near Warwick on September 4th and 5th). Price’s teammates, Jarrod Bewley (GP Industries Championship E1) and Ben Grabham (Pirelli Championship E3) also extended their point’s leads today with wins in their respective classes. Grabham came second Outright, Bewley third. Up-and-comer, Luke Tomlinson, finished a commendable fourth Outright. Expert rider, Rick Miles, claimed the first top-five Outright placing for an Expert rider in AORC history, coming fifth. Seventeen-year-old Tom McCormack nabbed his best AORC result to date, with sixth Outright. Fellow E1 rider, Luka Bussa, followed in seventh, Mitchell Bowen was eighth, Nicholas Beattie (9th) and Rhyce Ahola (10th). In the Junior ranks, Alex Stephenson was the quickest across the line. Round eight of the Yamaha AORC will be held in Sprint format at the same property tomorrow (Sunday, July 11th). Gates at the property (located off the Calder Highway, about 10-minutes on the Bendigo side of Wedderburn) will open to the public at 9am July 10th and 11th. Admission is just $5.00/adult, children under 14 are FREE. The Yamaha AORC includes the following Australian Championship classes: GP Industries E1, Yamaha E2, Pirelli E3, RK Chains Veteran’s, Master’s, Motul Women’s and Junior Class 1,2,3,4 & 5 (see supp reg’s for more info), as well as the following support classes: Polisport Expert E1, Endura Expert E2/E3, Clubman E1, Clubman E2/3 and Clubman Veteran’s. The next stop for the championship will be the Gold Rush on July 11th at Wedderburn (VIC), then the Barossa Bar Banger on August 7th and 8th at Kapunda (Barossa Valley, SA) and the finale, the Boxing Roo Yamaha AORC, September 4th and 5th at Cherrabah Resort (near Warwick, QLD). Yamaha AORC Round Seven Top-10 Outright 1. Toby Price (Pro E2 winner) 2. Ben Grabham (Pro E3 winner) 3. Jarrod Bewley (Pro E1 winner) 4. Luke Tomlinson E2 5. Rick Miles Expert E2/E3 6. Tom McCormack E1 7. Luka Bussa E1 8. Mitchell Bowen E3 9. Nick Beattie E2 10. Rhyce Ahola Expert E1 |
