Round 6 in Kyogle, New South Wales (NSW) lived up to expectation as some of the world’s finest Off-Road competitors tangoed with one another to clock in the fastest time for their class.
After a major upset yesterday in Round 5 of the Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championship (AORC), Luke Styke (Active8 Yamaha Yamalube) regained control of the leader board, finishing in first place ahead of yesterday’s E1 victor, Fraser Higlett (Husqvarna Enduro Racing Team).
It was a clean sweep for E2, E3 and EJ, with Daniel Milner (KTM Enduro Racing Team), Daniel “Chucky” Sanders (Husqvarna Enduro Racing Team) and Kyron Bacon (MX Store, KTM) taking home back-to-back class wins.
Our E1, E2, E3 and EJ classes once again tackled two tests, the Off Road Advantage and the bLU cRU tracks.
E1
After a difficult Round 5, Styke did what he does best and fought tooth and nail to take home a win. Clocking in a total time of 1:13:54.063, Styke lead the charge ahead of KTM Enduro Racing Team’s Lyndon Snodgrass, who settled for second place with a total time of 1:14:38.210. Following on from his first round win of the season, Higlett rode into third place for Round 6, with a total time of 1:15:21.524.
Styke’s teammate, Michael Driscoll unfortunately missed out on a podium, finishing in fourth place behind Higlett.
AORC E1 Round 6 Top 9 Provisional Results:
- Luke Styke (Active8 Yamaha Yamalube) 1:13:54.063
- Lyndon Snodgrass (KTM Enduro Racing Team) 1:14:38.210
- Fraser Higlett (Husqvarna Enduro Racing Team) 1:15:21.524
- Michael Driscoll (Active8 Yamaha Yamalube) 1:16:19.203
- Lachlan Allan (Kawasaki Castrol Factory Racing) 1:21:29.471
- Kye Malone 1:23:02.451
- Alexander Rudloff (Kawasaki) 1:27:09.023
- Joseph Cole 1:28:34.864
- Cohn Evans (Moto 1 KTM) (Moto 1 KTM) (Moto 1 KTM) 1:31:34.045
E2
In E2, Milner proved why he is the World Champion at the FIM International Six Days’ Enduro (ISDE), claiming back-to-back class wins. With a total time of 1:12:12.641, Milner finished in first ahead of Active8 Yamaha Yamalube’s Josh Green, who took out second place with a time of 1:13:56.903. Rounding out the podium was Brad Hardaker, for which Kyogle marks his first 2019 podium finish! Hardaker finished with a total time of 1:18:40.727.
Yamaha MX Store Ballards Off-Road Team’s Jeremy Carpentier unfortunately experienced mechanical issues during his tests, which reflected in his 10th place finish.
“Today wasn’t too bad, I just tried to pick up on my mistakes from yesterday – which I did – and learn some lines that I didn’t really grasp before,” confirmed Milner.
“I’m definitely behind the eight-ball due to my injuries which I’ll be working on between now and Broken Hill. I’ve been injury free for two years, so you forget how much it hurts and how much it impacts your attitude.”
“I’m definitely looking forward to Broken Hill! It’s probably my favourite round of the year – I’m familiar with the terrain, so I’m confident on coming out with a positive result!”
AORC E2 Round 6 Top 10 Provisional Results:
- Daniel Milner (KTM Enduro Racing Team) 1:12:12.641
- Josh Green (Active8 Yamaha Yamalube) 1:13:56.903
- Brad Hardaker 1:18:40.727
- Harry Teed 1:20:46.826
- Hayden Keeley 1:21:55.361
- Brock Nichols 1:22:15.721
- Jacob Peacock 1:22:38.015
- Robert Byrnes 1:22:54.255
- Brent Dean 1:23:35.065
- Jeremy Carpentier (Yamaha MX Store Ballards Off-Road Team) 1:24:43.378
E3
Riding the high from yesterday with another class win and clean streak for the 2019 season, Chucky returned for Round 6 and took out the lead. Clocking the fastest time for the day of 1:11:52.578, Chucky finished ahead of second place holder, Beau Ralston, who closed the chapter on Round 6 with a total time of 1:15:30.352. Rounding out the podium in E3 today was Andy Wilksch (Motul Pirelli Sherco Factory Team), with a total time of 1:17:09.433.
“Today was good up here in sunny Kyogle. The heat came out again! We had a technical test and then had a new fresh test which was pretty tight and made us fly on the bike to take out the fastest time we could,” explained Chucky.
“It all planned out pretty well and I finished mistake free!
“The new test today was good and different! The Juniors from yesterday had boomed it up and made it interesting for today’s racing.
“The back-to-back tests really tested everyone’s fitness levels too, which made for a great round!”
AORC E3 Round 6 Top 10 Provisional Results:
- Daniel Sanders (Husqvarna Enduro Racing Team) 1:11:52.578
- Beau Ralston 1:15:30.352
- Andy Wilksch (Motul Pirelli Sherco Factory Team) 1:17:09.433
- Jesse Lawton 1:19:13.568
- Matt Murry 1:22:05.483
- Luke Bunnik (Sherco Australia) 1:27:19.332
- Lachlan Smith 1:27:27.678
- Daniel Welsh 1:31:05.399
- Luke Morrison 1:37:27.468
- Daniel Robertson 1:44:32.297
EJ
Bringing it home to Tasmania and continuing his superb reign in the EJ class was Bacon, who finished Round 6 with a total time of 1:17:41.905. Josh Brierley (Nowra Motorcycles), who struggled yesterday in the highly technical tests, returned with a vengeance to take home a second place win, with a total time of 1:19:14.478. Third place was awarded to Korey McMahon, who finished Round 6 with a total time of 1:20:57.664.
AORC EJ Round 6 Top 10 Provisional Results:
- Kyron Bacon (MX Store, KTM) 1:17:41.905
- Josh Brierley (Nowra Motorcycles) 1:19:14.478
- Korey McMahon 1:20:57.664
- Cooper Sheidow(Kessner Motorcycles) 1:21:48.548
- Riley Nancarrow (Dahlsens) 1:22:51.894
- Nathan Howe (Bunbury KTM Suzuki) 1:23:09.906
- Ben Teed 1:27:12.033
- Ben Bertinazzi (Tyrepower) 1:27:16.677
- Matt Pye 1:27:56.773
- Tom Teed 1:28:55.240
Women’s
Round 6 marks a momentous occasion for Gardiner, notching up six consecutive round wins, which is the first time she has managed such a feat since 2014! With a total time of 1:29:13.827, Gardiner finished ahead of Emelie Karlsson (Yamaha Motor Australia), who settled for second place with a total time of 1:30:33.373. Locking in the third and final podium after Karlsson was Emma Milesevic (Honda RideRed Team), who pushed hard after a difficult Round 5 to finish with a total time of 1:31:06.414.
Ebony Nielsen conceded for fourth place, after a strong result in Round 5. Nielsen ended Round 6 with a total time of 1:32:10.592.
AORC Women’s Round 6 Top 10 Provisional Results:
- Jessica Gardiner (Yamaha MX Store Ballards Off-Road Team) 1:29:13.827
- Emelie Karlsson (Yamaha Motor Australia) 1:30:33.373
- Emma Milesevic (Honda RideRed Team) 1:31:06.414
- Ebony Nielsen 1:32:10.592
- Danielle Foot (Road & River Motorcycles, Sherco) 1:41:39.284
- Emi Ruprecht 1:42:17.401
- Charlotte Gamble 1:45:25.802
- Zoe Boccari 1:48:58.034
- Julie Denyer1:49:22.934
- Ivy Cross 1:55:15.096