AORC: Milner Dominates Round 5 & 6

KTM Enduro Racing Team’s Daniel Milner has dominated Rounds 5 and 6 of the 2018 Australian Off-Road Championship (AORC) at Dungog in New South Wales, on the weekend. Establishing himself as the rider to beat as the series resumed for its second half of the season.
Reigning national champion Milner was untouched on both days of Enduro format action, excelling in dry and dusty conditions. That form saw him maintain his perfect season in the E3 division, while also leading the way outright following six rounds.

Saturdaysaw Milner put forward a commanding performance, lodging a total time of 45m 44.564s, positioning him over 30-seconds ahead of his closest challenger. He was even stronger on Sunday in a repeat of results, extending an overall advantage of over 1-minute 40-seconds.
Teammate Lyndon Snodgrass rode to third in the E2 class on both days, despite one of his more difficult weekends of competition. Snodgrass displayed his share of speed around the grass track test, however, was unable to maximise on his time through the trail sections.
Milner now holds a 27-point lead in the E3 points, while Snodgrass sits third in the E3 category, 26 markers outside of the lead. The AORC series will now travel to Broken Hill, NSW, for round seven between September 1,2.

Glenn Kearney – Motorsport Manager, KTM Australia: “It was excellent to see Daniel come away with two solid victories and now he as a little bit of breathing room in the points, so we are really satisfied. It was a massive effort for him to win both days outright and also to top the E3 class, which is a really good result. Lyndon had a mixed weekend, still riding well enough to finish third both days in E2, but he couldn’t quite come to terms with the track conditions. It was definitely a major event, the Dungog club did great to host the Enduro format on both days, which really suits Milner. It’s been a long time since the last two rounds at Hedley, so it’s good to be back in AORC mode and now we can look ahead to the final half of the season.”

Daniel Milner: “This weekend was solid and I was happy to get through two good days of tests, not really making any mistakes and making the most of it. I ended up extending a decent lead on both days and getting the win, which is always the target. I feel like I am strong in these types of tracks where you need a lot of front-end feel and that’s what you needed in the grass test this weekend. To get a double win is what I was after this weekend following the disappointment of Hattah, which made me hungry to go out there and win to establish a points-lead outright and in class.”

Lyndon Snodgrass: “My weekend was pretty average, a bit of a struggle in one of the tests that I couldn’t quite figure out. I was struggling with that, which is a bit frustrating, but the results in class ended up being okay with a pair of podiums. It’s going to be important for me to pick up my game for the rest of the season, try to finish off the season strong from here. The grass track this weekend seemed to suit me a bit more, but the drier and dustier test was definitely a challenge so we will move on from this one and keep pushing for the rest of the season.”

Round 5 Results

E3 Class
1.Daniel Milner (KTM)
2.Lachlan Stanford (Husqvarna)
3.Scott Keegan (KTM)
4.Broc Grabham (Gas Gas)
5.Tom Mason (KTM)

E2 Class
1.Daniel Sanders (Husqvarna)
2.Josh Green (Yamaha)
3.Lyndon Snodgrass (KTM)
4.Wil Ruprecht (Yamaha)
5.Stefan Granquist (Yamaha)

E1 Class
1.Fraser Higlett (Husqvarna)
2.Luke Styke (Yamaha)
3.Jack Simpson (KTM)
4.Brad Hardaker (Yamaha)
5.Tomas Ravenhorst (KTM)

Round 6 results

E3 Class
1.Daniel Milner (KTM)
2.Lachlan Stanford (Husqvarna)
3.Scott Keegan (KTM)
4.Broc Grabham (Gas Gas)
5.Kane Hall (Yamaha)

E2 Class
1.Daniel Sanders (Husqvarna)
2.Josh Green (Yamaha)
3.Lyndon Snodgrass (KTM)
4.Wil Ruprecht (Yamaha)
5.Stefan Granquist (Yamaha)

E1 Class
1.Luke Styke (Yamaha)
2.Fraser Higlett (Husqvarna)
3.Jeremy Carpentier (Yamaha)
4.Jack Simpson (KTM)
5.Brad Hardaker (Yamaha)

Championship Standings (After 6 of 11 Rounds):

E3 Class
1.Daniel Milner (KTM) 150
2.Lachlan Stanford (Husqvarna) 123
3.Broc Grabham (Gas Gas) 108
4.Tom Mason (KTM) 96
5.Andrew Wilksch (Sherco) 95

E2 Class
1.Daniel Sanders (Husqvarna) 150
2.Josh Green (Yamaha) 128
3.Lyndon Snodgrass (KTM) 124
4.Stefan Granquist (Yamaha) 102
5.Riley Graham (Yamaha) 95

E1 Class
1.Luke Styke (Yamaha) 147
2.Fraser Higlett (Husqvarna) 123
3.Jack Simpson (KTM) 120
4.Jeremy Carpentier (Yamaha) 94
5.Tomas Ravenhorst (Yamaha) 93