AORC: Gympie, Qld – Rounds 1 & 2 Results

The opening rounds of the 2018 Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championship (AORC) got underway over the weekend in Gympie, Queensland. Taking back-to-back class victories for Rounds 1 and 2 on both Saturday and Sunday were Daniel Milner (E3) Daniel Sanders (E2) Luke Styke (E1) and Michael Driscoll (EJ), with Milner and Sanders posting the quickest Outright times on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
Here’s a summary of the weekend’s racing and results from Motorcycling Australia’s AORC Organising Committee:

E3 Class

Daniel Milner of the KTM Enduro Team was once again the leading man for the E3 class on Sunday. The rider that offered the greatest challenge to Milner was Husqvarna Enduro racing Team’s Lachlan Stanford. The gap that separated Milner and Stanford was 88 seconds with Milner registering a 53:38.468 and Stanford a 55:06.916 to finish the day. The final podium placer for today was Broc Grabham. Grabham with his 56:16.507 was 69 seconds off the pace of Stanford.

E2 Class

The rider of the day had to go to Daniel ‘Chucky’ Sanders, as he was the fastest on the WR450F track and his class. ‘Chucky’ had phenomenal speed yesterday, but several falls hindered his true potential. Husqvarna Enduro Racing’s Sanders took a 48 second victory to Active8 Yamaha Yamalube Team’s, Josh Green. The times for these pair being 53:29.353 (Sanders) and 55:06.916 (Green). The final podium placing went to Lyndon Snodgrass of the KTM Enduro Team.
Sanders sharing; “It was a great day today, I injured my hand slightly yesterday but we managed to overcome it. We went in with a plan to attack the track as hard as possible and give it all we’ve got. The Husqvarna machine was unreal!”

E1 Class

Luke Styke of the Active8 Yamaha Yamalube Team is showing all the signs that his transition to Enduro from Motocross was a brilliant idea. Styke reigned supreme as a back to back winner for Rounds 1 & 2. The Yamaha rider completed the WR450F track in 55:01.233. Coming second was Jack ‘Simmering’ Simpson on his KTM machine. The difference between winning and losing being 27 seconds. Husqvarna Enduro Racing Team rider, Fraser Higlett completing the podium with an elapsed time of 55:33.463.
Styke saying; “Today went really well and I ended up winning my class. We made a few changes to the bike over the weekend and they were beneficial. I didn’t have much nerves about my first AORC race, I’ve worked super hard over the off-season. The track today was a lot tighter than yesterday but our setup worked so well on Saturday so we maintained it.

EJ Class

It was always going to take an almighty effort to beat rising star Michael Driscoll and he managed to win by a convincing 76 seconds. The greatest challenger to Driscoll was recent graduate from the Junior classes, Joshua Brierley. The times for these two competitors were 55:54.499 (Driscoll) and 57:10.631 (Brierley). Corey Hammond also maintained his third place finish from yesterday with a 58:38.096.

Women’s Class

In a quest for three titles in a row, Wilson couldn’t have gotten off to a better start in the pursuit finishing Sunday with a time of 1:07:27.921. Wilson had stiff competition today from Emelie Karlsson who finished in second, 24 seconds behind Wilson with her 1:07:51.129. Jessica Gardiner of the Yamaha MX Store Ballard’s Off-Road Team enjoyed a solid weekend’s riding in her return to the Australian scene, finishing in third position 1:08:12.758, after a second place in Round 1.

Championship Standings (after 2 of 11 rounds):

E3 Standings
1. Daniel Milner, 50
2. Broc Grabham, 38
3. Kane Hall, 37
4. Andrew Wilksch, 36
5. Lachlan Stanford, 35

E2 Standings
1. Daniel Sanders, 50
2. Joshua Green, 44
3. Lyndon Snodgrass, 40
4. Stefan Granquist, 36
5. Riley Graham, 31

E1 Standings
1. Luke Styke, 50
2. Jack Simpson, 44
3. Nic Tomlinson, 36
4. Jeremy Carpentier, 36
5. Fraser Higlett, 32

EJ Standings
1. Michael Driscoll, 50
2. Joshua Brierley, 44
3. Corey Hammond, 40
4. Harry Teed, 32
5. Lachlan Allan, 32

Women’s Standings
1. Jemma Wilson, 50
2. Emelie Karlsson, 42
3. Jessica Gardiner, 42
4. Sophie Coldicutt, 36
5. Tamara Gray, 30

Outright Championship Standings (after 2 of 11 rounds):

We’ve seen the class results from the opening rounds of the AORC, but what about the Outright? Here is a snapshot, but if you want more check out our Outright article.
1=. Daniel Milner, 47
1=. Daniel Sanders, 47
3. Josh Green, 40
4. Luke Styke, 34
5. Lyndon Snodgrass, 33

The championship heads next to Hedley in Victoria on May 5-6 for Rounds 3 and 4 of the 2018 AORC.