Hollis rebounds into Round 2 of 2012 Yamaha AORC
The sun has set on the second round of the 2012 Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championship (AORC) in Dungog, with Motorex KTM Off-Road’s Chris Hollis going home from the event with clear Outright and E2 honours.
The reigning Champion bounced back from a disappointing finish yesterday, where a derailed chain in the final Moto pushed him out of round contention, to finish the six Test Enduro day on top of the ladder, fourteen seconds ahead of teammate and first round winner Toby Price and sixteen seconds ahead of Husqvarna Racing’s Glenn Kearney.
Hollis also cleaned up in the E2 class, pipping Kearney and Matt Phillips (Ballard’s Yamaha Off-Road) with a mere sixteen and a half second margin between first and second place.
E1 Class honours were awarded to Daniel Milner (Ballard’s Yamaha Off-Road) for the second consecutive round, narrowly nudging out Ben Burrell (Motorex KTM Off-Road) and Luka Bussa (Husqvarna Racing).
The E3 Class results were a carbon copy of the first round, with first-place finisher Price shadowed over the line by Stefan Merriman (Ballard’s Yamaha Off-Road) and Scott Keegan (Motorex Force Husaberg).
Suzuki MX1 Australia’s principal Trent Lean took out the Masters Class for the second day in a row, topping the strong field ahead of Robert Day (Yamaha) and Mark Cockerill (Husaberg). Lean was joined on the consecutive victory bandwagon by Damian Smith (Husqvarna), who took another convincing Vet’s Class victory ahead of Adam O’Connor (KTM) and Anthony Smidt (KTM) and Jemma Wilson (Yamaha) who took a narrow win in the Womens Class ahead of Jess Gardiner (Yamaha) and Tanya Hearn (KTM).
The Juniors finished off a big weekend by navigating their way through a hot and humid morning of Enduro Tests. The J1 Class aw Michael Peacock (Suzuki) storm home to snare first-place honours ahead of Joshua Brierley (Kawasaki) and Zane Temperley (Yamaha). The J2 and J3 results saw Round 1 place winners switch places, with Dylan Heaton (KTM) snaring the J2 win from Lyndon Snodgrass (Kawasaki) and Wil Ruprecht (Suzuki MX1 Australia) and Tom Mason (KTM) claiming the J3 line in front of Nic Tomlison (KTM) and Jacob Peacock (Suzuki). Peter-Daniel Allan (Yamaha) consolidated his first round victory in the J4 with another first place finish, beating out Alex Wilson (Husqvarna) and Isaac Richardson (Suzuki).
The next chapter of the twelve-round Series will be played out in the Victorian town of Wonthaggi on 31 March – 1 April.
– KTM Report
Motorex KTM Off Road Racing riders Toby Price and Chris Hollis scored a win apiece in the opening round of the 2012 Australian Off-Road Championship at Dungog in New South Wales on 10-11 March.
Former two-time champion Price rode to victory Outright during Saturday’s opening Enduro round of the season, before a second place finish on Sunday Outright sealed him the series lead overall. Price also won both E3 rounds to lead that series aboard the brand new 2012 model 500 EXC.
“It’s started off great this year and the KTM 500 EXC was working really well for me,” Price said. “Saturday went to plan before Sunday was a little bit up and down, but consistent results will be important this year and I managed that. I need to make sure I’m on the podium all the time and look at the big picture, which is the championship.”
After a chain derailed while he was in contention for victory on Saturday, forcing him to settle for 18th Outright and seventh in E2, defending champion Hollis bounced back on Sunday to take both the Outright and E2 class honours on the 350 EXC-F ahead of Price.
“Sunday is the first time I’ve actually won a round since 2008, so that was pretty cool after the disappointment on Saturday,” Hollis explained. “I love the 350 EXC-F and I think I showed that within my riding, feeling really comfortable. I’ll just have to go to each round and try my best from here in the championship, because I’m definitely up for the challenge – we’ll see how I go!”
E1 class contender Ben Burrel was also in fine form at the opener, finishing third in class on Saturday before improving to a solid second place on Sunday, which landed him seventh Outright in both rounds on the 250 EXC-F.
“We got off to a reasonable start, although I was sort of hoping for a better result in class and Outright,” Burrel said. “It’s not a bad start as far as points go though, so we’ll keep gaining momentum from here. Having Toby and Chris on my team makes things a lot easier and they definitely have a lot of experience to share – I learn a lot from them.”
Team manager Brad Williscroft was satisfied with the team’s opening efforts of the season, pleased to see the riders and crew unite and gain success on debut in the AORC ranks together.
“I’m very happy as pretty much half the team is new for 2012,” Williscroft said. “We’ve got a new mechanic and two new riders, but everybody gelled really well together and we were able to get good results both days.
“I was really impressed with Benny because he has pressure on his shoulders as teammate to Toby and Chris, but I think he’ll keep learning and improving as the season continues. Chris has adapted great to the KTM 350, so I look forward to the battles between him and Toby all year.”
The series will now head to Wonthaggi in Victoria on 31 March-1 April for rounds three and four of the 2012 AORC season.
– Ballards Yamaha REport
Yamaha’s factory supported Ballards / Park and Fly Off Road team kicked off the 2012 AORC season in impressive fashion with all three riders taking class wins or podium positions after the opening two rounds were held at Dungog, NSW, over the weekend.
The weekend saw two individual rounds held on each day across a range of special tests and trail time in the enduro format. New recruit Daniel Milner leads the E1 class after two rounds, Matt Phillips holds down second in E2, while Stefan Merriman is in second place in the E3 category.
Saturday – Round 1
The Yamaha team came out all guns blazing on Saturday with Victorian Daniel Milner sneering the class win in the E1 (250cc) division. Mounted on the Yamaha YZ250F, Milner handled the trying conditions superbly to take control of the class on the opening day.
Not to be outdone, Matt Phillips also pulled down the class win in the E2 (450cc) in a sensational national debut for the new 2012 WR450F. Phillips entered the event fresh back from the US, but also a wrist injury yet raced well to take the round win and establish himself as a contender for the 2012 season.
Stefan Merriman also jumped on the podium, taking second place in the E3 (over 450cc) class. Merriman and former champ Toby Price look set for a season long battle in the big bore division with a lot of racing miles and close duals to come.
Round One Results
E1
1st Daniel Milner (Yamaha)
2nd Josh Green (Yamaha)
3rd Luke Bussa (Husqvarna)
E2
1st Matt Phillips (Yamaha)
2nd Glen Kearney (Husqvarna)
3rd Mitcham Harper (Yamaha)
E3
1st Toby Price (KTM)
2nd Stefan Merriman (Yamaha)
3rd Scott Keegan (Husaberg)
Sunday- Round two
Feeling confident after the strong opening round showing, the Ballards Yamaha boys were back on the bikes early Sunday morning and hoping for another strong day out on the trails.
Daniel Milner picked up where he left off with another strong performance and another class win in the E1 division. Milner is thriving on the YZ250F and making the most of his early season opportunity with the factory Yamaha team.
Phillips landed on the podium on day two. He finished up third in the E2 class after a tight tussle with Chris Hollis and Glen Kearney. The 1-3 round result puts Phillips in a strong position after the opening rounds and with a long way to go in the championship.
Stefan Merriman and Toby Price picked up on their battle again, with Merriman again coming home second in class. Very little separated the pair over the weekend and it will be a fascinating battle to watch as the championship moves on.
Round Two Results
E1
1st Daniel Milner (Yamaha)
2nd Ben Burrell (KTM)
3rd Luka Bussa (Husqvarna)
E2
1st Chris Hollis (KTM)
2nd Glen Kearney (Husqvarna)
3rd Matt Phillips (Yamaha)
E3
1st Toby Price (KTM)
2nd Stefan Merriman (Yamaha)
3rd Scott Keegan (Husaberg)
After two rounds, Ballards Yamaha leads the E1 class with Daniel Milner at the helm. Matt Phillips holds a slender one point lead in the E2 category giving the 2012 WR450F a sensational AORC debut while Stefan Merriman holds down second in the E3 class just a few seconds from the class lead.
Team Manager, Geoff Ballard, who is also racing in the Masters class, was happy with his teams’ weekend and believes they have built a good platform for the championship.
“At the opening round of any championship it’s important to get off to a good, consistent start and not make any silly mistakes. All three riders raced the conditions well, used their heads and find themselves well placed in the championship after the first two rounds.”
“It was also a huge rap for the new bikes. The WR450F worked flawlessly while the YZ250F also proved to be a great choice in the E1 class with Daniel going so well.”
“As a team we can take confidence from this event and now set our sights for rounds three and four at Wonthaggi, Victoria later this month,” Ballard explains.
Outright Results – After Round two
1st Toby Price- E3 (KTM)
2nd Stefan Merriman – E3 (Yamaha)
3rd Glenn Kearney – E2 (Husqvarna)
4th Daniel Milner – E1 (Yamaha)
5th Matt Phillips – E2 (Yamaha)
6th Chris Hollis – E2 (KTM)
7th Ben Burrell – E1 (KTM)
8th Josh Green – E1(Yamaha)
9th Mitchham Harper – E2 (Yamaha)
10th Luka Bussa – E1 (Husqvarna)
– Husqvarna Report
The 2012 AORC (Australian Off Road Championship) series kicked off at Dungog in New South Wales over the weekend. Given that several off the nation’s top off road racers were starting the 2012 title chase in new teams, everyone was eager to get the racing underway.
The Dungog venue, like the rest of Australia’s east coast, had experienced consistent heavy rainfall in the lead up to Saturdays round one; the less than ideal conditions meant that traction would be very difficult to find in the slippery conditions.
Husqvarna Racing’s Glenn Kearney had a mixed day on Saturday to finish 2nd in E2 behind Yamaha’s Matt Phillips and in 6th spot outright.
Glenn and the Husqvarna Racing Team technicians worked on bike setup prior to Sundays round 2 to find some more front end grip, the setting changes proved to be a positive with Kearney pushing hard throughout Sundays special tests to move into 3rd outright behind KTM pair Chris Hollis and Toby Price and 2nd in the E2 class behind Hollis.
With 2 rounds completed the title chase for Kearney is on target with Glenn currently 2nd in E2 only a single point behind Phillips. Outright honors’ have Kearney sitting in 3rd position behind Toby Price and Stefan Merriman respectively.
Glenn Kearney: “All up it was a good result for us. Like many others, we struggled to find consistent grip, particularly with the front end. The team made some changes after Saturday and Sunday proved to be much better. The surface continued to improve throughout the day and we had some great speed towards the end. We are in a good position right now and I think we can get another strong result at the next round in 3 weeks time.”
Husqvarna Racing’s Luka Bussa kept himself in contention throughout Saturday’s round 1 and consolidated his efforts with a strong performance across Sundays special test formats to finish 3rd in E1 behind Yamaha’s Daniel Milner and Ben Burrell (KTM).
Luka Bussa: “I am happy enough with our result for the weekend, early on the conditions were quite tough however they improved across the weekend and I found a rhythm on Sunday and finished well. Thanks again to the sponsors and my mechanics from the Husqvarna Racing Team.”