2016 AORC: KTM Riders Sweep Hedley

When other bikes and riders were dropping around them, KTM Enduro Racing Team riders, Daniel Sanders and Tye Simmonds, proved their resilience in one of the most testing Australian Off-Road Championship (AORC) rounds ever seen. 

Saturday’s seventh round of the championship was a three-hour cross country in diabolical conditions that variously included wind, rain, sleet and hail on terrain that was largely covered in standing water before the event even began. Sunday’s sprint round might have brought out the sun, but the conditions retained many of the challenges, although Sanders didn’t seem to notice them as he powered his KTM 300EXC to his third double round win of the year, opening up a 28-point lead in the E3 title chase.

His teammate, Simmonds, was equally consistent and almost as fast, taking his KTM 450EXC to E2-class victory on both days, and finishing runner-up to Sanders in the Outright standings for both rounds. Off-road racing rookie, Jack Simpson, continued his stellar introduction to the genre, giving KTM a perfect trifecta of the three capacity classes as he charged to a pair of E1 victories, spectacularly taking fourth Outright on both days in the process.

In the Transmoto 19 & Under class, Wil Ruprecht and Andrew Wilksch shared wins on Saturday and Sunday, respectively, while in the Women’s class, Tegan Hall and Jemma Wilson split the victories.

The 2016 Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championship will now head to Monkerai in New South Wales on August 13-14.

To access detailed results from Hedley’s AORC rounds, click here.