KTM's Daniel Sanders won the overall for Round 8 of the 2016 Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championships at Hedley this weekend, backing up his first place finish at Round 7 a day earlier.
The first day of competition brought some of the most treacherous conditions imaginable with heavy rain soaking the Hedley track turning it into a mud pit.
Women’s were first up after the Juniors, after only one hour in to the race it looked as though Yamaha’s Jemma Wilson had cemented her fate leading ahead of a fellow Yamaha rider Jessica Gardiner and Sophie Coldicutt .
However, as conditions continued to deteriorate positions changed. Tegan Hall shined out in front as she worked hard to take on Jemma Wilson and was successful wrapping up the race in first position, finishing with a final overall time of 2:02:49.095.
Sophie Coldicutt (2:03:27.270) also making pace in the last lap finished strong in second with Wilson (2:03:42.664) close behind in third after what was a brilliant race to the finish.
As the last race of the day competitors of E1, E2, E3, and Veterans lined their machines on the start line ready to race!
KTM Enduro Racing Teams’ Tye Simmonds (E2) managed to steal the lead from the remainder of the pack as Lyndon Snodgrass (E3) moved into a comfortable second and ex Motocross racers Jack Simpson (E1) sat in third after only one lap.
By the half way mark of the eight lap race it was KTM Enduro Racing Teams’ Daniel Sanders (E3) who plummeted to the lead hungry not to let team mate Simmonds through, but Simmonds in second was determined not to finish without a fight to the flag.
With positions remaining unchanged for the remainder of the race it was Sanders (2:45:54.863) who bought it home fighting through the cold, hail, rain and copious amounts of mud lengthening his overall lead in the championship.
Simmonds who started strong was unable to beat the pace of Sanders who looked to be unstoppable concluding in a comfortable second with a time of 2:48:15.472.
Snodgrass concluded the race all smiles wrapping up the final podium position in third with a time of 2:51:54.437 just off the pace of his fellow competitors.
For the next day of competition the track was transformed into a sprint layout and this is how the racing unfolded.
AORC E1:
Despite Daniel Sanders claiming the overall win with the fastest time of 32:02.953, it was Jack Simpson (33:21.080) who made use of the track to take his machine across the finish line first for the E1 class.
While only just off the pace it was Husqvarna Enduro Racing Teams Glenn Kearney (33:43.344) who finished today in second place, and capturing third position for Round 8 in the E1 class was Riley Graham finishing his final sprint clocking a time of 34:06.797.
AORC E2:
With Josh Green being ruled out due to injury it was open slather for the E2 class today as KTM Enduro Racing Teams Tye Simmonds was hungry to prove his dominance on a tight and muddy track.
Although second overall, Simmonds snatched up first place for his class with a time of 32:53.359, putting valuable points on the board with only four rounds remaining until Champions are crowned.
Broc Grabham (33:38.252) and CDR Yamaha’s Chris Hollis (34:19.666) rounded out the final two positions on the E2 podium.
AORC E3:
From the first test it was KTM Enduro Racing Teams Daniel Sanders out in front as he led the 150 competitors around the 8 minute loop, almost 12 seconds in front of second placed Tye Simmonds (E2).
And with only four tests to show his strength on his KTM machine he wrapped up Round 8 victorious overall and for the E3 Class.
Lyndon Snodgrass (33:17.569) once again put on a great performance to be credited with second for the round and Active8 Yamaha’s Beau Ralston (33:29.553) lined up on the podium in third.
Women’s:
It was Jemma Wilson who proved her speed on the Yamaha machine, taking the number one position for the Women’s class in only 43:19.740 minutes.
Emelie Karlson (43:32.683) made serious pace as she rumbled through the mud and straight into second position just in front of Jessica Gardiner who improved from yesterday to secure a third place finish with a final time of 45:03.166 over the four sprints.
Preparations are now underway as there is just over two weeks until they jump back on the bike for Rounds 9 & 10 at Monkerai, NSW August 13-14.
Overall results:
Daniel Sanders 32:02.953 (E3)
Tye Simmonds 32:53.359 (E2)
Lyndon Snodgrass 33:17.569 (E3)
Jack Simpson 33:21.080 (E1)
Beau Ralston 33:29.553 (E3)
Broc Grabham 33:38.252 (E2)
Glenn Kearney 33:43.344 (E1)
Lachlan Stanford 33:50.008 (E3)
Riley Graham 34:06.797 (E1)
Scott Keegan 34:09.999 (E1)
Overall results for Women’s:
Jemma Wilson 43:19.740
Emelie Karlsson 43:32.683
Jessica Gardiner 45:03.166
Sophie Coldicutt 45:22.109
Tegan Hall 46:04.765
Kate Norman 1:00:06.325
Irene Vasilas 1:03:06.843
Angela Angela 1:09:25.743
Stacey Thompson 1:16:24.951
Overall Results for Masters:
Derek Grundy 46:08.836
Wayne Vandenberg 48:12.632
Peter Schaper 48:40.800
Ken Burt 49:41.973
Dean Shaw 50:49.170
Andrew Cais 51:07.034
David Salt 51:25.710
Joe Ondrus 51:26.253
Anthony Patterson 52:50.950
Patrick Dillon 52:50.957
Full results can be viewed at the MyLaps website here.