AORC 2013 – Round 5/6 – Corner Inlet (VIC)
— Yamaha AORC Round Five Outright Results:
1 Josh Green 02:44:54.958
2 Glenn Kearney 02:45:14.215
3 Daniel Milner 02:49:17.512
4 Geoff Braico 02:51:16.490
5 Jarrod Bewley 02:51:34.923
6 Stefan Granqvist 02:52:03.419
7 Lachlan Stanford 02:52:10.677
8 Peter Boyle 02:53:40.247
9 Daniel SANDERS 02:54:57.872
10 Tom Kite 02:55:45.465
12 Ben Burrell 02:56:35.271
DNF: Chris Hollis
— Yamaha AORC Round Six Outright Results:
1 Daniel Milner 52:46.551
2 Josh Green 53:30.263
3 Chris Hollis 54:03.200
4 Glenn Kearney 54:14.529
5 Stefan Merriman 54:29.534
6 Jarrod Bewley 54:33.927
7 Alex Stephenson 54:36.440
8 Peter Boyle 54:39.897
9 Scott Keegan 54:53.876
10 Tom McCormack 55:10.958
13 Geoff Braico 55:43.372
17 Ben Burrell 56:35.981
— CDR Yamaha Report
Victorian racer Daniel Milner today claimed the Outright and Championship E1 Class wins in round six of the Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championship (AORC), held at Corner Inlet, Victoria.
The CDR Yamaha rider now leads the 2013 Yamaha AORC by about ten-points ahead of Chris Hollis. Fellow Yamaha rider, Josh Green (WR450F), sits third.
And Milner wasn’t the only Yamaha rider to win his class today. Yamaha riders claimed all three premier championship class wins, with Green victorious in Championship E2 and AJ Roberts (big-bore YZ250 2-Stroke) winning Championship E3.
“I’m super stoked to take my first AORC round win of the season,” Milner said.
“I feel it’s a huge achievement to win a round and it’s certainly a good way to take the lead of the championship.
“All-in-all I had a great weekend. I won all six tests today, despite stalling it in the first test.
“It gives me a lot of confidence going into the next rounds at South Australia.
“Hopefully I’ll just keep this momentum going and stay strong and consistent to keep my spot at the top of the leader board.”
Milner, 22, from Lang Lang (Victoria) won all six sprint laps and finished nearly a minute ahead of today’s second place getter, fellow Yamaha pilot, Josh Green (WR450F).
Milner’s teammate, Stefan Merriman, also put in a solid performance today, claiming fifth Outright and third in Championship E2.
CDR Yamaha team owner, Craig Dack, said he couldn’t be more proud of his first ever enduro team.
“Having success so early in our venture is a real achievement for us,” Dack said. “I must acknowledge Daniel Milner. He’s a great young guy with a very bright future.
“I also need to thank Daniel’s mechanic, Bryan Fitzgerald, and our second mechanic, Steven Clarke, for all their effort so far.
“We are excited to be ahead in the championship, but we are also very mindful that it’s still early days and must keep our focus going forward.”
— Motorex KTM Report
New Motorex KTM Off Road Racing Team rider Geoff Braico took an impressive class win in his first AORC round appearance for the team, as the championship series continued at Corner Inlet in Victoria. Filling in for injured champion Toby Price, Braico pushed hard on his KTM500ECX, and came away from the weekend with the lead in the E3 championship.
Rounds five and six of the series took place in tough, sandy conditions on a testing track which pushed both bikes and riders to the limit.
Round One winner Chris Hollis was a surprise casualty on Saturday. Without even crashing he fell victim to a pinched nerve which left him unable to continue, and only able to complete Sunday’s program in severe discomfort.
E1 class rider Ben Burrell’s hands blistered to a level which surprised even Team Manager and seven-time Australian champion Brad Williscroft, but the gritty 19-year-old from Parkes clenched his teeth and soldiered on to gain valuable points on both days.
Brad Williscroft: “It was a bit of a strange weekend for us. Chris’ injury was something we’ve never ever seen happen before, and we were pretty dumbfounded until we worked out it was a pinched nerve. He was pretty lucky to be able to get through and pick up good points on the Sunday and be only 10 points out of the lead.
We were very happy with Geoff’s first ride, he did everything that was asked of him in the 3-hour, and today only a couple of small crashes lost him some time. But he managed to pick up second and move into the championship lead so we’re very happy. Benny started off well but in the last hour he tore a lot of skin off his hands with blisters and it affected him today in the sprints – but he managed to get thru and finish. We know can go a lot better than his result here so we’ll work on a few things over next month.”
Geoff Braico (E3 1st, 4th – Outright 2nd, 13th): “I gelled with the bike pretty well this weekend, but made some silly mistakes today which cost me the win really. In the 3-hour I got some arm pump but it came good again and I punched out some consistent laps. I won the class and got my best outright result so far, then today in the sprints I crashed twice and missed out by just ten seconds for second in E3 and 13th outright. It’s great to come away from the weekend with the E3 points lead, but I need to focus on getting the intensity and the aggression up for the sprints. Big credit to the guys in the Motorex KTM Off Road Team particularly Gary, Wonka and my mechanic Adam Baker. It was also great to see the main man there in Jeff Leisk.”
Chris Hollis (E2 DNF, 2nd – Outright DNF, 3rd): “I slipped a disc or pinched a nerve or something on Saturday about 10 minutes into the 3-hour and my legs began spasming, cramping and carrying on in a lot of pain. I didn’t know what was happening so I lay down beside the track and the ambos came and got me. It all came back after half an hour and I stretched a lot last night but still had dramas today. At least with the sprints being only nine minutes long I was able to salvage some points for second in class and third outright. I’ll see the specialist tomorrow and get some scans to find out what’s going on.”
Ben Burrell (E3 6th, 7th – Outright 12th, 17th): “It was a tough weekend for me and I just didn’t get the results I wanted. I had a reasonable start and was going okay until about half way when the tape on my hands began to unstick and bunch up in my gloves. The blisters got bigger and bigger and took a bit of the speed off me. Today my hands got sorer and sorer and were bleeding, and I struggled trying to hold on, especially in the choppy sand. On the positive side the bike is working really well and all the motocross training has made me a lot more confident in the starts and aggressive early, and just more comfortable banging bars with other riders, so that’s good.”
— Active8 Yamaha Report
Active8 Yamaha’s Josh Green and AJ Roberts came out on top of their respective classes at today’s round six of the Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championship (AORC), held at Corner Inlet, Victoria.
Green, 22, from Nelson Bay (NSW) won the hotly contested Championship E2 Class by about 30-seconds after six sprint laps aboard his WR450F.
“After my Outright win yesterday and my class win today, I couldn’t ask for a much better weekend,” Green said.
“It was an awesome track and a good set up. The track was really tough after getting chewed up yesterday so it made for a good, challenging event and I like that.
“I’m looking forward to the next rounds of the AORC and hopefully gaining some more points towards the championship.
“I’m sitting third Outright now behind Daniel Milner and Chris Hollis… we’ve got a bit of a break again until the South Australian rounds, but I’ll be keeping busy.
“We are driving straight to Alice Springs now to get ready for the Finke Desert Race, which is being held on the June long weekend – in two weeks’ time.
“This will be my first Finke and I’m super excited. I want to achieve a good, solid position – qualify well and get down and back safely.”
Roberts, 30, from Ningi (QLD) finished first in Championship E3 by about 10-seconds, ahead of a second-placed Geoff Braico.
The team’s Championship E1 rider, Tom McCormack, finished just shy of the podium in his class, coming fourth and 10th Outright.
— Husqvarna Report
Husqvarna takes podiums at AORC Round 5 and 6
Round 5 and 6 of the Australian Off-Road Championship was held in Victoria in the scenic surrounds of Corner Inlet. The weather provided ideal conditions on both days with no rain and sunshine on Saturday.
After the successful AORC rounds in Queensland, the Husqvarna Racing Enduro Team with Glenn Kearney and Lachlan Stanford, were keen to go racing again.
Matt Phillips did not participate at the rounds, staying in Europe for more testing with the Husqvarna Factory team to defend this World Championship lead.
Conditions were near perfect on both days, which had the course incorporate a broad range of terrain types offering the perfect layout for the 3 hour Cross Country race on Saturday and Sundays Sprint Series.
The E1 class (up to 250cc) saw Husqvarna’s Glenn Kearney (TE 250 R) taking the win in the class with of a gap of 2 minutes and 2 second to 2nd placed Daniel Milner. His performance secured him 2nd place outright. On Sunday Glenn could feel the effects from the Saturday’s race. He was fighting the whole day with Daniel Milner for the win, but had to settle for 2nd place.
Glenn Kearney: “It was a tough weekend with the sandy track getting really rough; the 14 km Cross Country course was a great layout. Coming into the weekend carrying some injuries I was a little concerned on how I would do. The Cross Country went well where I was able to lead the majority of the race battling with Josh Green who eventually took the outright win over me, though I was happy to take the E1 victory.
“Sunday I was feeling the effects of Saturday’s race and struggled through the day to finish 2nd to Daniel Milner in E1 and 4th outright.
“Joel, Dave and Brian did a great job as usual, the TE 250 R was flawless, and a huge thank you to the Paul Feeney Group and Husqvarna for a great weekends racing.”
With Matt Phillips not racing it was up to Lachlan Stanford in the E2 class. After a bad start Lachlan had to battle through the field to take the 3rd spot on the podium. With two crashes on the opening lap of Sunday’s Sprint Series, Lachlan had to push hard on this TE 310 R to make up lost time, ending up 7th in class.
Lachlan Stanford: “Saturday went really well for me. After my poor start, I ended up pushing through most of the field into 3rd. I’m really happy how I rode the Cross Country and finishing third in class.
“Sunday sprint series did not go as planned. I had two crashes in my first lap which set me back and I had to play catch up the whole day. I’ve posted a few good lap times but not enough I ended up 12th outright and 7th in class.
“My TE 310 R worked really well all weekend and didn’t miss a beat. I am excited for the next rounds. Huge thank you to Husqvarna Motorcycles for the support and the associated team sponsors. Joel, Dave and Brian did an awesome job. I’m really happy being a part of the Husqvarna Enduro Racing team.”
“Veterans’ class Damian Smith rounded out the strong performance for the Husqvarna Team. A broken oil line put a sudden end to the Damian’s racing on Saturday. He was determined to make Sunday his day, and went on to beat Kirk Hutton taking the number 1 spot on the podium.
Damian Smith: “Saturday was a day I’d rather forget but the result on Sunday was awesome. The competition with Kirk is pretty fierce but in a good way, we push each other pretty hard. My TE 310 R is hard to fault, Saturday was a freak thing and Sunday she performed beautifully.”
Paul Feeney: “Great result for the boys and the team overall, Glenn was, as always, on the pace and it was great to see him take the win on Saturday and place 2nd on Sunday.
“Lachlan is becoming a real asset for us in the E2 class with another podium place. The crashes on his first lap on Sunday limited his result this weekend, but I’m sure he will bounce back from that at the next round.
“Damien continues to get consistent results on his TE 310 R and it was great to see him take the win on Sunday also.”
— Husaberg Report
Husaberg Australia rider and former A4DE champion Jarrod Bewley is “finding his groove” in this year’s Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championship, and his fat points haul at the weekend’s fifth and sixth rounds at Corner Inlet, Victoria promises even better things to come.
Bewley finished runner-up in the super-competitive E2 class on Saturday for fifth outright, then backed that up with sixth outright on Sunday.
Husaberg team mate Scott Keegan’s weekend was a little more up and down, the FE350 rider withdrawing from Saturday’s XC after his shoulder freakishly dislocated while riding. After re-locating the joint, Keegan rested up, taped up and came out swinging (carefully) on Sunday to be an impressive 6th in class and 9th outright.
Jarrod Bewley (E2: 2nd, 4th – Outright: 5th, 6th) “I was stoked with this one, hopefully it bumped me up a little bit in the standings. The rough track and the sandy conditions would have been a struggle if you weren’t enjoying them but I really was – my bike was handling the conditions really well. I got a decent start in the 3-hour and after being 9th on Lap 1 I moved up to 6th by half distance and finished 4th outright and 2nd in E2, but along the way I missed a fuel stop and had to cut the bunting to get into pit so I got a two-minute penalty which dropped me to 5th outright. Today went well and I ran 4th until the fifth heat, and finished sixth. I’m getting it together more and more and finding my groove again, so this was a good one to build on.”
Scott Keegan (E2: DNF, 6th – Outright: DNF, 9th) “There were a couple of little whoops and I let the front float a little like you do in sand, and must have been just the right angle to yank it out. It’s just weird after I’ve done so much so much riding lately. The pain wasn’t unbearable, but I couldn’t hold my elbow up and could barely hold the bar so all I could do was cruise back to the pits. It took us an hour so to get it back in. I iced it, wore a sling all night, got some anti-inflammatories into me and decided to ride Sunday. Sunday the track was pretty chopped up, even though the races were only 10 mins, I couldn’t keep strong elbows or anything, and adjusting my riding to compensate sort of hindered things towards the end. Still, my speed was okay even though I couldn’t be too aggressive; Jarrod was only 15-20 seconds ahead of me. It was an okay day really, considering everything!”
— CDR Yamaha Saturday Report
CDR Yamaha’s Daniel Milner battled from a last-place start in the three-hour cross-country round five of the Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championship (AORC), passing all but two Pro riders to clinch third Outright and enough points to move him into second spot on the championship points ladder.
Milner, 21, finished second in Championship E1 yesterday, despite having a bad start and entering the first corner near dead last.
The Lang Lang (VIC) rider now sits second in the Outright in the 2013 Yamaha AORC, just one point behind leader, Toby Price.
“Anything can happen in racing and I was sad not to be able to race Toby. But I’m sure he will be back on the race track soon,” Milner said.
“Price’s teammate, Chris Hollis, had issues and didn’t finish the cross-country, so obviously that helped me with points.
“But that’s racing, and we’ve all been there. I am very fortunate to be on such a great bike and to have finished the day where I did.
“I’m feeling confident for today’s sprint. The track will be rough, but we did some little things to the bike last night which should hopefully help in the deep sand.
“Now I’m close to the lead of the championship, I think I’ve just got to stay consistent and try my best to stay on and finish every round.
“That’s the plan.”
Milner said that he’d managed to pass the Outright winner, WR450F pilot Josh Green, at one point of the race yesterday and catch up to number two place getter, Glenn Kearney.
“But then I had to fuel up and I took a little bit longer than I should have in the fuel stop,” Milner said.
“They passed me and I was hoping to pass them back when they pitted on the next lap, but each lap was about twenty-minutes long and I just fell short.
“All-in-all I’m very happy with my result yesterday and keen for the sprint round today.”
Milner’s team manager, Craig Dack, said he was “very proud” of Milner’s performance.
“We were able to capitalise on an unfortunate situation for KTM,” Dack said.
“We hope Chris Hollis is okay… but we are excited to move forward in the championship and hope to keep the momentum going into round six.”
Dack said that Milner’s teammate, Stefan Merriman, struggled to find his flow, finishing sixth in class and 14th Outright.
“Everyone has off days, and yesterday Stefan didn’t quite find his rhythm,” Dack said.
“He’s got some things to think about today and is feeling confident about round six, being held here at the same venue.”
AUSTRALIAN OFF-ROAD CHAMPIONSHIPS 2013:
Round 1 & 2 – 16-17 March – Bulahdelah, NSW – Cross Country/Sprint
Round 3 & 4 – 6-7 April – Goomburra, QLD – Enduro
Round 5 & 6 – 25-26 May – Corner Inlet, VIC – Cross Country/Sprint
Round 7 & 8 – 29-30 June – Coonawarra, SA – Sprint/Sprint
Round 9 & 10 – 17-18 August – Bendigo, VIC – Cross Country/Sprint
Round 11 & 12 – 7-8 September – Dungog, NSW – Cross Country/Sprint