Victorian riders have put their best efforts forward in the opening rounds of the Australian Off-Road Championships, held in Kilkivan in Queensland, over the weekend of March 19-20.
Twenty-four Victorians made the trip up north with a large number of those riders finishing within the top ten of their respective classes.
Victoria had riders in the following classes:
E1 (Enduro 1): 100cc – 200cc 2stk & 150cc – 250cc 4stk
E2 (Enduro 2): 220cc – 250cc 2stk & 275cc – 450cc 4stk
E3 (Enduro 3): 290cc – 500cc 2stk & 475cc – 650cc 4stk
EJ (Enduro Champ Junior): All powers (rider must be 19 or under at 1 January 2016)
J2 (Junior 2): 12 – 15 years 2stk 85cc & 4stk 150cc
Masters: All powers (rider must be 45+ years of age before 1 January 2016)
Women: All powers
Enduro 1 (E1)
Jack Simpson – 1st
Peter Boyle – 5th
Daniel Collins – 12th
Sean Holmes – 13th
Hear from Jack Simpson: “We’ve featured in the series already, which is a bit unexpected. On Saturday I won the first three sprints convincingly and was sitting fourth outright, then all of a sudden I lost 14 seconds in one sprint without even a crash or any issue, so something’s strange about that, but I couldn’t get that time back,” Jack said.
“Anyway, I copped it on the chin and used it as fire in the belly and I smoked them by 20 seconds today. It’s a 100% stock engine on the little 250 too! Ben Grabham and Chucky and Tye have been giving me a lot of support, so thanks to them for that. I got a little bit stale on the motocross and switched to off-road and the atmosphere is much more friendly and encouraging, even between the competitors. I like it,” Jack added.
Enduro 2 (E2)
Chris Hollis – 3rd
Tom McCormack – 4th
Chris Davey – 5th
Justin Carafa – 6th
Mitcham Harper – 11th
Jack Goodman – 20th
Enduro 3 (E3)
Daniel Sanders – 1st
Tom Mason – 4th
Lyndon Snodgrass – 5th
Hear from Daniel Sanders: “I’m wrapped to get my first AORC wins; it’s unreal. It was good to beat them all on ground that I’m not too familiar with and not too good on. The KTM300 didn’t miss a beat all weekend and the Danny Apro-tuned suspension is a really good ride, the motor is pretty much the same as last year – I’ve done heaps of time on it now and I know how to ride it, the two-stroke is really good in the tight stuff so that’s where I make up as much time as possible,” Daniel said.
“I’ve done a lot of practice in the off-season on rocky and off camber stuff and now I just want to keep this momentum going into the rest of the season,” he added.
Hear from Lyndon Snodgrass: “I’m happy to come away from the first and second rounds of the AORC with solid points in fifth place. I was really happy with the TE 300, it was awesome and I feel really comfortable on it. I just need to work on my consistency a bit with my sprints and just minimise my mistakes.”
Enduro Junior
Andrew Wilksch – 7th
Jai Wedlock – 9th
Stuart Holt – 10th
Trent Tucci – 13th
Jack Matthews – 16th
Josh Major – 17th
Jake Roehrich – 21st
Enduro Junior 2
Ashden Gramlick – 3rd
Enduro Masters
Jason Salopayevs – 2nd
Peter Schaper – 6th
Andrew Cais – 7th
Women
Kate Norman – 6th
Motorcycling Victoria’s Operations & Events Manager Mark Vallance said it was great to see so many Victorians do so well in a range of classes.
“It’s great to see a rider like Jack Simpson come across from motocross and do so well in his first AORC event,” Mark said.
“Sanders, Mason and Snodgrass are just doing what they do every year, finishing around the top end of the standings, which is no easy feat and fantastic to see,” Mark added.
“To have four of the top six riders in the E2 class is a great result at the start of the season.”
Rounds 3 & 4 of the Australian Off-Road Championships take place on April 9-10 in Portland, New South Wales.
Round 3 of the Victorian Off-Road Championships will take place on April 16 in Erica where the juniors will be in action.