AORC – Price, Phillips and Milner win at Coonabarabran
Sarah Barrett
For a quick overview of the highlights of Round 5 and 6 at Coonabarabran click here.
Round 5 and 6 of the 2012 Yamaha WR450F Australian Off-Road Championship took to Coonabarabran’s Goanna Track Complex where Daniel Milner, Matt Phillips and Toby Price held onto their respective class leads, with Toby Price holding the outright lead.
Round 5
Daniel Milner (Ballard’s Yamaha Off-Road) continued his clean sweep of the E1 Class, coming home after a thundering seven-heat battle ahead of Ben Burrell (Motorex KTM Off-Road) and Josh Green (Active8 Yamaha Yamalube).
Milner’s teammate Matt Phillips once again clocked up the top spot in the E2 Class, snaring the win from Glenn Kearney (Husqvarna Racing Team) and Jarrod Bewley (Active8 Yamaha Yamalube).
Toby Price (Motorex KTM Off-Road) continued his dominance of the E3 Class, locking in his fifth straight round win from Stefan Merriman (Ballard’s Yamaha Off-Road) and Mitch Bowen (Husaberg).
Price also collected Outright honours for the day, taking four of the day’s seven heats to top the ladder ahead of Milner, Phillips, Kearney and Burrell, and consolidating his hold on the Outright Series lead.
Damian Smith (Husqvarna) once again led the Veterans Class, finishing the day in front of Yamaha pilots Mark Woolley and Craig Wease. Trent Lean (Suzuki MX1 Australia) collected the Masters Class honours in front of Ian Jenner (Husaberg) and Robert Day (Yamaha).
The Womens Class saw Yamaha riders Jess Gardiner, Jemma Wilson and Emilie Karlsson take the three podium positions after a day of close heats.
Todd Barry (KTM) snared the J4 triumph from Peter-Daniel Allan (Yamaha) and Isaac Richardson (Suzuki), while Tom Mason (KTM) recorded his fourth straight victory in the J3 Class, followed over the line by Nic Tomlinson (KTM) and Jacob Peacock (Suzuki).
Dylan Heaton (KTM) put in a standout performance to secure his third J2 Class win for the year, taking the trophy from Will Ruprecht (Suzuki MX1 Australia) and Shay McKerlie (Honda), while Mitchell Brierley (Kawasaki) took his second J1 victory of the Series to finish in front of Joshua Brierley (Kawasaki) and Zane Temperley (Yamaha).
Round 5 Results
E1
Daniel Milner (Ballard’s Yamaha Off-Road)
Ben Burrell (Motorex KTM Off-Road)
Josh Green (Active8 Yamaha Yamalube)
E2
Matt Phillips (Ballard’s Yamaha Off-Road)
Glenn Kearney (Husqvarna Racing Team)
Jarrod Bewley (Active8 Yamaha Yamalube)
E3
Toby Price (Motorex KTM Off-Road)
Stefan Merriman (Ballard’s Yamaha Off-Road)
Mitch Bowen (Husaberg)
Round 6
More than 200 riders took to three natural terrain sprint tracks at the Goanna Tracks Motocross and Enduro Complex in New South Wales for a second day of intense competition in powdery conditions.
Daniel Milner (Ballard’s Yamaha Off-Road) continued his domination of the E1 Class, finishing the five-heat day ahead of Josh Green (Active8 Yamaha Yamalube) and Ben Burrell (Motorex KTM Off-Road).
The E2 Class once again went to Matt Phillips (Ballard’s Yamaha Off-Road) who clocked the fastest time in a close battle with Glenn Kearney (Husqvarna Racing Team) and Jarrod Bewley (Active 8 Yamaha Yamalube).
In the E3 Class, Toby Price (Motorex KTM Off-Road) made it a perfect six-for-six, taking the top position once again with a commanding three minute lead over rivals Stefan Merriman (Ballard’s Yamaha Off-Road) and Scott Keegan (Motorex Force Husaberg).
Price also picked up Outright honours for the day, putting the fastest time on the board in front of Milner, Phillips, Kearney and Green.
The Veterans Class trophy was picked up by class leader Damian Smith (Husqvarna), who was followed in by Craig Wease (Yamaha) and Andrew Gillam (KTM), while the Masters Class was a carbon copy of Round 5 with Trent Lean (Suzuki MX1 Australia) once again beating out Ian Jenner (Husaberg) and Robert Day (Yamaha).
The Womens Class saw the winning Yamaha trio from Round 5 back on the podium in a different arrangement, with Jess Gardiner locking in the top step in front of Emelie Karlsson and Jemma Wilson.
It was the same scenario in the J1 Class, with the Round 5 winners switching places to land Josh Brierley (Kawasaki) in the lead ahead of Mitch Brierley (Kawasaki) and Zane Temperley (Yamaha). Dylan Heaton (KTM) strengthened his hold on the J2 Class, outpacing Will Ruprecht (Suzuki MX1 Australia) and Stuart Holt.
Nic Tomlinson (KTM) commandeered the J3 Class from Tom Mason (KTM) and Jacob Peacock (Suzuki, while Todd Barry (KTM) took home the goods in the J4 Class ahead of Peter-Daniel Allan (Yamaha) and Isaac Richardson (Suzuki).
E1 Class leader Daniel Milner, who leaves Goanna Tracks sitting second on the Outright leaderboard, is pleased with his showing at Coonabarabran and in the Series to date.
“I feel like I’m getting better and better and getting more confident since the first round, I started off with third and then went a fifth and gradually working up,” Milner said.
“Every race it just keeps coming and I’m just practicing and getting better and better. I think I beat Toby [Price] in couple of tests there today and I was stoked with it – he’ definitely a hard man to beat.”
Price, who recently arrived home after taking on a number of events in the US, is happy with his performance over the weekend and looking forward to the rest of the Series.
“The weekend was really good, round five and six all done, and I got a couple of wins so the bike is handling well and I’m loving the KTM 500,” Price said.
“We’re at the halfway point of the Series at the moment and the first half has been great so far and we’re keeping on track and looking forward to the second.”
The 2012 AORC now heads to Broadford in Victoria for Rounds 7 and 8 of the Series on 19-20 May.
Round 6 Results
E1
Daniel Milner (Ballard’s Yamaha Off-Road)
Josh Green (Active8 Yamaha Yamalube)
Ben Burrell (Motorex KTM Off-Road)
E2
Matt Phillips (Ballard’s Yamaha Off-Road)
Glenn Kearney (Husqvarna Racing Team)
Jarrod Bewley (Active8 Yamaha Yamalube)
E3
Toby Price (Motorex KTM Off-Road)
Stefan Merriman (Ballard’s Yamaha Off-Road)
Scott Keegan (Motorex Force Husaberg)
Outright Top Ten
Toby Price (Motorex KTM Off-Road)
Daniel Milner (Ballard’s Yamaha Off-Road)
Matt Phillips (Ballard’s Yamaha Off-Road)
Glenn Kearney (Husqvarna Racing Team)
Josh Green (Active8 Yamaha Yamalube)
Jarrod Bewley (Active8 Yamaha Yamalube)
Ben Burrell (Motorex KTM Off-Road)
Stefan Merriman (Ballard’s Yamaha Off-Road)
Tom McCormack (Yamaha)
Stefan Granquist (Yamaha)
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