KTM smash and grab the silverware at Bathurst AORC season opener
FAST FACTS
• All competitors were challenged with the wet and very muddy conditions
• Following round one and two KTM lead the Championship in the E1, E2 & E3 class
• KTM team riders hold the top three outright positions in Championship points
RIDER QUOTES
Jarrod Bewley – Pro E1 class
“I had my best start in any cross country at round one of the AORC series, and I was leading by around 20 seconds,” said Bewley. “Early in the race an unfortunate crash into a fence lost me a minute forty, and after detangling myself I re-entered the race in around seventh position. I tried to get up a good pace for the rest of the race, and managed to catch up to third placed Stefan Merriman by the last lap. I tried to make a pass, but was unable to get by and finished three seconds behind him for fourth.
“For the sprint format at round two, I had a good day winning the E1 class by over 35 seconds, and I felt great on the bike. Outright I was second to my team mate, Toby Price, and I enjoyed some good battles with Daniel Milner and Ben Burrell, who were both riding really well.”
Toby Price – Pro E2 class
“The opening two rounds went really great,” said Price. “To come away with two wins is a dream result, and the best way to start the season. “A big shout-out goes to the boys in the Motorex KTM Off-Road Racing camp who kept me getting around the extremely muddy conditions – it was tough going out there.
“The Cross Country format at round one would have been the most challenging in the mud and wet, making the bike heavy to get around the track. I was third on the first lap, and then moved into second by lap two. Half way around the second lap, my team mate Jarrod Bewley had an unfortunate crash which handed me the lead. From there I checked out, and led until the chequered flag.
“For round two we did seven sprint races all up. I had consistent lap times, and was positioned between 4-5 seconds a lap quicker than the competition, which placed me well for another win. It wasn’t an easy feat though, my KTM team mate, Jarrod Bewley kept me honest, and he will be stiff competition as the series continues, as will Stefan Merriman who was probably disappointed in his results for the opening two rounds, so he will no doubt come back stronger at the next rounds.”
Ben Grabham – Pro E3 class
“I knew it was going to be tough going in the wet conditions at Port Macquarie, especially after the parade lap, when the bikes were all very heavy in the mud,” said Grabham. “In the Cross Country format I was in the top five and kept soldiering through. By the last lap I was on Toby Price’s back wheel just as he crossed the finish line. I always seem better at the longer race formats, it suits my style of riding, which is more accustomed to longer rally or desert style races.
“I had a good ride in the sprint format for round two, winning my class and really enjoying the bike on the track. The team results were rewarding for us all, and we leave the opening two rounds with a 1-2-3 outright position, which is a great confidence booster to us all.”
Brad Williscroft – Race Team Manager
“I couldn’t be happier with Motorex KTM Off-Road Racing’s results at the opening two rounds of the AROC, we now lead all classes, and hold the top three positions outright,” said Williscroft. “That’s a clean sweep, what more could I ask for out of the racers.
“Each of our riders is to be commended for their commitment to the team, and their commitment to training. They’re all taking part in Stephen Gall’s cardio program conducted by Tim Cole, who is working closely with each rider.
“We have done a lot of pre season testing with suspension, and it really paid off for the boys this weekend. It was a great team effort, particularly from our mechanics who were burning the midnight oil on Saturday night preparing the bikes, so they would be 100 percent for the next days racing.
“I also commend the awesome support from team sponsors who have helped us achieve fantastic results for the series opener.
— Promoter Report
Reigning Yamaha Australian Off-Road Champion, Toby Price, kicked off his 2010 campaign with a bang today at Port Macquarie (NSW), taking the round one Outright and Yamaha Championship E2 Class wins.
The 22-year-old from Singleton (of the Motorex KTM Team) was first across the line in today’s 2.5-hour, “mud-fest” of a cross-country race.
Price’s teammate, Ben Grabham, nearly stole the win however, charging passed the checkered flag in second spot and mere seconds off Price’s rear fender.
Ballard’s Wellard Yamaha rider and AORC number two plate holder, Stefan Merriman, finished third Outright and second in Champ E2.
Grabham took the Pirelli Championship E3 Class win. Teammate, Jarrod Bewley, was first in GP Industries Championship E1.
“It was a pretty tough event today, you would fall into a rut and have to follow it right through,” Price said.
“It was a good event, though, the organisers did a great job and getting the first win was great – hopefully one of many.
“I’ll go home tonight and recover and come back and do it all again tomorrow.”
Round two of the Yamaha AORC is being held tomorrow in Sprint Format.
Today’s fastest Expert rider was Nathan Castle, who took the number one placing in Expert Outright and Endura Expert E2/E3.
Michael Hand was the winner in Polisport Expert E1.
In Motul Championship Women’s, Lana Stiller was the victor.
RK Chains Championship Veteran’s was taken out by Anthony Smidt, while Championship Master’s was won by Geoff Ballard.
Junior Outright was taken out by Lachlan Terry.
And in the clubman categories, Thomas Jenner won Clubman E1, Luke Parkes won Clubman E2/E3 and Clubman Veteran’s was won by Gary Tomlinson.
For full results, pics and video interviews from today, check out www.aorcracing.com.au.
The AORC are fantastic for spectators, with nail-biting action and the chance to get up close and personal with the stars of Australian enduro racing. Gates at the Hastings Valley Motorcycle Raceway will open to the public at 9.00am March 14th. Admission is just $5.00/adult, children under 14 are FREE.
A limited number of event t-shirts are also available for purchase, get your order in now by visiting www.aorcracing.com.au
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 2010 Yamaha AORC is a 12-round championship held over six weekends. The opening round at Port Macquarie will be ran in a cross-country format (class mass start, most championship classes race for 2.5-hours flat out). Round two will be ran in sprint format (several laps of the bush/motocross track racing against the clock).
The next stop for the championship will be the Green Park Yamaha AORC on May 1st and 2nd at Conondale (QLD). Then there will be the Titan Enduro May 29th and 30th at Moruya (NSW South Coast), the Gold Rush on July 10th and 11th at Wedderburn (VIC), 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 (location TBA) NSW.
— Yamaha Report
A wet and wild weekend greeted Yamaha riders for the opening two rounds of the Australian Off-Road Championship (AORC) held at Port Macquarie over the weekend.
The double header weekend, with round one on Saturday and round two on Sunday was a real test of man and machine as the water logged conditions pushed bikes and riders to the limit. Yamaha riders posted some impressive results as the 2010 championship sets off on the eastern seaboard.
SATURDAY – Round 1
Stefan Merriman (Ballards Yamaha) headed the Yamaha charge on Saturday taking second place in the championship E2 class and landed in a very respectable third outright for the day. Merriman used all his experience from winning world off road championships to get his bike and body through the challenging day and leave himself well placed early in the series.
“It was tough out there today and the conditions became extremely wet and rutted. Being the opening round, it was just a matter of using your head, keeping the bike on two wheels and making the most of the sloppy conditions,” said the wily veteran.
Merriman was ably backed up in the E2 class by Josh Ballard (Ballards Yamaha) who put in a consistent performance to take eighth in class.
Yamaha took out the Championship Masters (over 45) with Geoff Ballard (Ballards Yamaha) racking up another win. Like Merriman, Ballard has a world of experience in his gear bag and put it to good use to claim the overall round win and put himself on top of the leader board early in the 12 round championship.
Other notable Yamaha performances came from Ben Burrell (Ballards Yamaha) and Kristian Sprenger (Pro Yamaha) taking fourth and fifth respectively in the E1 division. Tom McCormack (Pro Yamaha) slotted into eighth place in the same category.
Kirk Hutton (Ballards Yamaha) rode his big bore WR450F to fifth place in the E3 class while the girls had a tough day with Jessica Gardiner (Ballards Yamaha) in fourth and Jemma Wilson (Caboolture MC) in the back half of the top 10.
Dylan Hickling (Northstar Yamaha) finished out the day third in the junior class.
Round 1 – OUTRIGHT RESULTS
Rider Class Manufacturer
1st Toby Price E2 KTM
2nd Ben Grabham E3 KTM
3rd Stefan Merriman E2 Yamaha
4th Jarrod Bewley E1 KTM
5th Mitcham Harper E3 Husaberg
6th Jason Davis E2 KTM
7th Geoff Braico E3 Husaberg
8th Josh Green E3 KTM
9th Daniel McCoy E2 KTM
10th Kirk Hutton E3 Yamaha
SUNDAY – Round 2
Overnight rain ensured the wet and soggy conditions continued on Sunday and officials even had to alter the days course because of the amount of rain in the region. Thankfully there was no rain throughout the day and the riders were able to deal with the trying conditions.
Geoff Ballard again lead from the front taking the round win in the Masters class, only this time he was matched in the results by the Yamaha girls. Jemma Wilson and Jessica Gardiner returned to form and took the Womens class on Sunday with a 1-2 finish.
Dylan Hickling also made the top step of the podium in the junior class, topping off a great weekend for the young rider from the Gold Coast who is a top contender in junior motocross events around the country.
Stefan Merriman and Josh Ballard mirrored their Saturday results again taking second and eighth for the round in the E2 division.
Yamaha riders also posted top results in the E1 class with three riders inside the top 10. Ben Burrell took third in class for the round, two places ahead of Tom McCormack in fifth and Kristian Sprenger in eighth.
Kirk Hutton didn’t compete in Sundays program as he rushed back to Brisbane to be with his wife Leigh who went into labour in the early hours of Sunday morning. They welcomed a baby boy into the world at 2.30pm Sunday afternoon.
Round 2- OUTRIGHT RESULTS
Rider Class Manufacturer
1st Toby Price E2 KTM
2nd Jarrod Bewley E1 KTM
3rd Daniel Milner E1 Suzuki
4th Ben Burrell E1 Yamaha
5th Stefan Merriman E2 Yamaha
6th Ben Grabham E3 KTM
7th Jason Davis E3 KTM
8th Anthony Roberts E2 Honda
9th Blake Hore E3 Yamaha
10th Karl Power E1 KTM
— AJ Roberts
AJ ROBERTS FINISHES TOP TEN AT DIFFICULT AORC ROUND ONE
15 March 2010 – A mud packed track proved to get the better of Honda’s AJ Roberts at the opening round of the Australian Off Road Championships after rains made for a heavily bogged Port Macquarie circuit.
Roberts and the Force Honda Thor Michelin Off Road Team worked diligently to prepare the CRF450R for the wild conditions, however a blocked radiator saw the end of his bid for glory on the last lap of the day’s proceedings.
“It was an incredibly slow, tight track,” AJ commented.
“We were pretty much in first and second gear the whole time and paddling through with our legs.”
“I got a good start, but had a crash and had to work hard to get back up with the front runners. Unfortunately, the conditions just got the better of me.”
Round two on the following day proved to be somewhat more positive for Roberts, with the 27-year-old picking up the pace for the sprint format.
AJ finished in 4th place giving him 8th overall. “We’ll just pick ourselves up and get ready for the Australian 4 Day Enduro now. I’m sure we can do well there.”
The A4DE is scheduled for April 8 -11, 2010 at Portland, NSW
Rounds 3 and 4 of the Australian Off Road Championship will take place at Conondale, QLD on May 1 -2.