Junior competitors battled it out at Round 5 of the 2016 Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championship at Murray Bridge.
With some new and familiar faces out on track, the development of the Off-Road calibre was set even higher at Round 5 as the athletes moved their bikes around the rugged terrain in seven tests to show just the depth of rising talent here in Australia.
J4
Young Rick Ireland, of only 16 years old, turned heads competing in his first national Off-Road championship round and claiming the win in front of current championship points leader Zak Mitten, with an impressive time of 57:25.373. Mitten finishing in second place was only seconds behind the front runner, battling with the youngster to make up time. Mitten concluded the day with a final combined time of 57:39.308.
Coming in close third behind Mitten was William Price who put in consistent test times throughout the seven tests to finish with a time of 58:32.409.
Ireland, who was far from expecting to blitz the field, was humble in his performance on the bike and expressed just how tough the competition was.
“I am feeling really happy with the results today it was definitely the best I could do. I was pushing really hard out on track,” he said.
“This win gives me a lot of confidence going into tomorrow, not sure how I will go with the change of tracks though.
“I haven’t competed here before so I didn’t have anything to compare myself with, no one had any expectations for me, so I could just ride to the best of my ability and it turned out well today,” Ireland concluded.
J3
Mitchell Brierley who currently sits second in the Championship rankings had a lot to prove to make up valuable points and take the lead in the standings. And prove himself he did, remaining untouched on the top step with a concluding time of 58:45.895. Carrying his form from the Round 3 and 4 in Portland, NSW, Corey Hammond improved his times to place himself in second position just behind Brierley while Jye Bennett, the current points leader couldn’t quite keep to the pace snatching up third position with a concluding time of 1:00:07.233.
J2
With seven tests under their belt, there was no shortage for competitors to put their feet in the dirt and it was Sam Noonan who managed to top the times with a concluding overall time of 1:01:37.433 in the J2 class. Riding with impeccable strength and continuously improving his test times throughout the day, Ashden Gramlick finished second with a time of 1:01:45.255. Cooper Sheidow rounded out the top three times for Round 5 to finish with a 1:03:02.207 time.
J4:
Rick Ireland 57:25.373
2. Zak Mitten 57:39.308
3. William Price 58:32.409
4. Tom Mitten 58.39.948
5. Liam Mason 59:26.770
6. Ryley Oakes 1:01:02.490
7. Luke Allan 1:01:06.088
8. Zane Temperley 1:01:24.301
9. Riley Schultz 1:01:46.384
10. Hudson Summerfield 1:02:17.065
J3:
1. Mitchell Brierley 58:45.895
2. Corey Hammond 59:18.175
3. Jye Bennett 1:00:07.233
4. Nathan Howe 1:02:06.166
5. Nick Graham 1:02:34.477
6. Tate Plummer 1:04:39.945
7. Matthew Bunnik 1:06:09.121
8. Riley Nancarrow 1:06:47.400
9. Dex Kelly 1:06:51.089
10. Tully O’Neil 1:06:57.833
J2:
1. Sam Noonan 1:01:37.433
2. Ashden Gramlick 1:01:45.255
3. Cooper Sheidow 1:03:02.207
4. Jayden Rudd 1:04:14.040
5. Mathew Pye 1:04:32.724
6. Max Price 1:05:46.381
7. Cale Dellow 1:08:56.966
8. Brad Murray 1:09:09.346
9. Zak Crafter 1:09:21.039
10. Kadin Ballard 1:09:23.670