Coming out on top for the first round of the 2019 AORC season was Jessica Gardiner (Yamaha MX Store Ballards Off-Road Team) for the Women’s class.
2018 reigning Women’s Champion, Gardiner, has commenced the 2019 season in perfect form as she pursues her campaign to smash the Women’s title record out of the park. Gardiner finished the day with a time of 1:13:37.414, ahead of Emelie Karlsson by just shy of two minutes. Karlsson finished the day with a time of 1:15:26.672, managing both the high heats, dust and her recovering foot injury to grab second place. Ebony Nielsen trailed Karlsson to take out third place for Round 1 by just under three minutes.
Reflecting on her fantastic efforts, Gardiner stated “it’s great to be back for the new 2019 AORC season. As soon as we arrived in Queensland this week, the humidity hit me straight away, so today has been targeted at keeping cool and staying hydrated whenever we’re off the bike.
“Tomorrow’s plans are to start out as strong as possible whilst remaining upright. We tackle a new track tomorrow, so as long as I can have some fun and stay cool in what’s expected to be high heats, I should remain pretty consistent,” explained Gardiner.
Delivering a glittering performance on Sunday, Gardiner remained a dominating force in the Women’s class, taking out a consecutive class title! Living up to her campaign in chasing the current record for the Women’s titles, Gardiner lead the class by just over three minutes!
Landing in second behind Gardiner was Emma Milesevic with a time of 47:36.299. A maiden voyage in Enduro racing for Milesevic, who currently continues to compete in Motocross, today’s racing proved her growing comfort in the new discipline.
“So far so good! I’m still racing in Motocross as well, but I’m loving the challenge and change in riding Enduro,” explained Milesevic.
“I’m trying to bring the same speed and aggression from my Motocross racing, whilst also refining my technical skills”
Third place today was clinched by Ebony Nielsen, who managed an impressive weekend to hold onto the final podium spot, with a time of 48:16.332.
AORC Women’s Round 2 Provisional Results
Jessica Gardiner (Yamaha MX Store Ballards Off-Road Team) 44:21.944
Emma Milesevic 47:36.299
Ebony Nielsen 48:16.332
Danielle Foot 48:57.051
Emelie Karlsson 49:28.960
Zoe Boccari 56:57.933
AORC Women’s Round 1 Provisional Results
Jessica Gardiner 1:13:37.414
Emelie Karlsson 1:15:26.672
Ebony Nielsen 1:18:10.896
Emma Milesevic 1:18:41.568
Danielle Foot 1:21:02.977
Zoe Boccari 1:35:23.828
Charlotte Gamble 1:58:19.594
Isabella Hood 2:11:14.505