AORC: Champions crowned in Heathcote

In a record-breaking season, KTM Enduro Racing Team’s Toby Price has become the first rider to win a fourth career AORC title, as the 2014 Yamaha Australian Off Road Championship concluded this weekend at Heathcote in Victoria.

Price took a 28-point lead into the double-header finale and put the issue to bed on Saturday with an unlikely win that aptly illustrated just why he is one of Australia’s most respected off-road racers of all time. Price recovered from a poor start to slowly pick his way through the dust and the traffic, eventually breaching a 30-second gap to leader, Active8 Yamaha’s Beau Ralston and wresting the lead away with just two laps to go.

With the Outright and E2 number one plate securely in his keeping, Price finished second on Sunday behind CDR Yamaha’s Daniel Milner and ahead of Ralston, to cap off an incredible year which has seen him contest both desert and off-road racing calendars, finishing second in the KTM Australian Enduro-X Nationals and Australian 4-Day Enduro, and winning at Hattah, Finke, in the WA Desert Racing Tri-Series, and now, in the AORC as well.

“It’s awesome!” said Price on Sunday. “This year has just flown by that quick, and before we know it, we’ve done everything. I’m over the moon, the whole KTM team has worked really well, and helped me achieve my goals that I had, which was to get back on the bike after the injury last year and try to win races again. I didn’t think winning a championship would come again so soon, but that’s what we strive for. I definitely wanted to win that one yesterday and get everything done and dusted. And it worked a treat. The ISDE is next, but I’ll have a little bit of a break and let a few things heal up first. And then we’ll be good to go.”

Finishing in fourth Outright on Sunday was Daniel “Chucky” Sanders, who claimed the inaugural Transmoto 19 & Under class title on Saturday. Sanders managed to finish sixth Outright in the championship, and with 297 points, was able to defeat KTM-mounted rider, Broc Grabham (259 points) in the Transmoto 19 & Under class.

Fifth Outright went to Active8 Yamaha’s Josh Green, who is still struggling with injuries that he suffered at this year’s A4DE. Milner’s teammate, Chris Hollis, finished in sixth Outright on Sunday. Hollis ended up fifth Outright in the championship and dropped back to fourth in the E2 title race. It was an unfortunate round for Husqvarna Enduro Racing Team’s Lachlan Stanford, who ended up in seventh Outright, failing to crack a top five finish in Heathcote as he had hoped for. Active8 Yamaha’s Beau Ralston finished in eighth Outright on Sunday, while Broc Grabham finished in ninth.

Rounding out the top ten was Husqvarna Enduro Racing Team’s Glenn Kearney, who was crowned the E3 class champion on Saturday. Kearney hit the deck pretty hard in the first part of the morning on Sunday, but all-in-all the likeable New South Welshman was really pleased to walk away with the E3 title under the belt.

Rounding out the top 10 was Broc Grabham, who finished second to Sanders in the Under-19, with the new E3 champion Glenn Kearney completing the top 10. Kearney did hit the deck pretty hard in the first part of the morning, but all in all the likeable New South Welshman was really pleased and wrapped to walk away with the E3 title under the belt.

Just missing out on the top ten in the Outright standings on Sunday was the 2014 E1 champion, Active8 Yamaha’s Tom McCormack. McCormack was once again the victor of the E1 class, which saw him winning a total of nine rounds.

26-year old Emelie Karlsson wrapped up the season by finishing on a high note, claiming the win in the Women’s class. The new champion for 2014, Jess Gardiner (Balllard’s Motorex Off-Road Team) finished in second, with Tayla Jones taking the last step on the podium, riding a borrowed KTM. Karlsson’s win leap-frogged her into second position into the championship, finishing just one point ahead of Jones in the final standings.

Queenslander Derek Grundy took out the Masters division ahead of Trent Lean and Ian Jenner. Kirk Hutton completed his season with a win in the Vets, beating the 2014 champ, Husqvarna Enduro Racing Team’s Damian Smith, who has bowed out from AORC racing after spending many years at the top.