Reigning MX Nationals MX1 Champion Todd Waters finished second in E2 and third outright at the opening two rounds of the Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championship.
The Husqvarna rider was stoked with his performance but admits he still has a lot of room for improvement. Coming into the opening weekend of the AORC, Waters had little time to prepare but still managed to produce a podium result in class and outright, finishing second to KTM’s Daniel Milner and third outright to Milner and Husqvarna’s Daniel Sanders.
“To be honest I rode better than I expected. I was stoked to podium in the opening rounds considering our lack of preparation,” said Waters. “I had no idea what I was in for, the goal was to just get a feel for the AORC and build from there. I can’t thank Husqvarna Motorcycles Australia and all my other sponsors enough for their support in allowing me to compete in the off-road scene. We have a few weeks to the next round in Dungog, New South Wales.
“I’m excited to make some major changes to my bike setup and try and get my head around the next race format. The series is definitely going to keep me on my toes & be a useful distraction from motocross when it starts to get a bit repetitive. On a side note, I couldn’t have felt more welcomed into the Australian off-road scene.”
Jason Waters, Technical Coordinator for Waters’ AORC campaign said; “It was great to have the support and guidance of the Husqvarna Enduro Racing Team and MPE Suspension technician throughout the weekend. This enabled us to make some crucial changes to the bike setup. Moving forward into the next round, we will continue to do further suspension testing & make some motor changes, with the end goal of creating a more comfortable bike for Todd. Considering he rode a stock FE 450 with a slip on FMF silencer, Vortex ignition and Kite wheels it was a pretty impressive start to the series.”
Waters will now prepare for the next weekend of competition in Dungog, NSW – 14-15 March.
Following his stand-out performance at his first-ever AORC event, Waters has declared his intentions to apply for a position on the 2020 Australian International Six Days Enduro team. This year’s ISDE will be held in Italy, August 31 – September 5 and applications are still open. Waters will also be a favourite to represent Australia at the FIM Motocross des Nations in Ernée, France, September 25-27.
Photo Credit: @foremostmedia