AORC: Renmark SA – Round 7 & 8 Results

The Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championship (AORC) headed to Renmark in South Australia over the weekend for Rounds 7 & 8.

Round 7 (Saturday)

A change of format for Saturday’s Round 7 racing was instated from a cross-country to super sprint due to dusty conditions. The seniors were split into 30-second intervals and raced to record the fastest time over three laps of the 15km track.

E1
Snap Fitness Yamaha Team rider Scott Keegan, blasted his way through the track today at Renmark. Team manager Tom McCormack would be proud of the off-road star. Keegan concluded the day with a time of 46:26.686 and took out the E1 win ahead of Wil Ruprecht. Ruprecht of the Active8 Yamaha Yamalube Racing Team, recovered well from his injury back at Miva to post a total combined time of 46:28.237. Ruprecht would miss out by only two seconds. Finishing on the podium in third was Tom Jones on a Yamaha.

E2
KTM Enduro Team’s Daniel Milner reigned supreme after coming out today on top of the time sheets, handing him the Round 7 and the E2 win. Milner had sensational pace and remained unbeatable to snatch up a finishing time of 43:46.913. Local hero Riley Graham wrangled his way around the track in fine form to bring home second place. He had a concluding time of 44:17.154. Josh Green of the Active8 Yamaha Yamalube Racing Team had enough pace to make the podium but not quite enough to challenge for the victory, finishing third in the E2 class after racing concluded today, his total time was a 44:45.104.

E3
It would be KTM Enduro Team’s Lyndon Snodgrass who delivered the first place in the E3 class. Snodgrass was tremendous throughout the dry and dusty conditions and was simply untouchable in his class. The KTM rider finished with an overall time of 44:42.857. Up next in second position was Husqvarna Enduro Team’s Lachie Standford, he earned a total time of 45:37.715. It will be interesting to see how the Championship battle develops between Snodgrass and Standford on Sunday, as they have been battling head to head all year. The final podium position belonged to Jesse Lawton on a Husqvarna, Lawton manoeuvred his bike around the track to finish with an accumulated time of 46:24.135.

Transmoto EJ
In the EJ class (19 and under) that is designed as a development ground for senior riders, it would be Fraser Higlett on his Husqvarna to stand out from the rest! Higlett posted an impressive 45:44.372. Up next in second was Michael Driscoll on a Yamaha. Nic Tomlinson completed the podium trifecta after his move to a Yamaha for this weekend. Tomlinson managed a 46:07.664 after a close fought battle with Driscoll.

Round 8 (Sunday)

Sunday’s sprint racing consisted of four laps around the YZ450FX Test Track in the dusty conditions. Although the conditions created a challenge for the riders, it forced the cream to rise to the top.

E1
It was a Yamaha one-two within the E1 class on Sunday. Active8 Yamaha Yamalube Racing Team’s Wil Ruprecht took a well-deserved victory for Round 8. Ruprecht suffered injury back at (Miva, QLD) and his victory shows he has recovered very well, helping to solidify his championship lead. Ruprecht took just 36:55.387 to finish the four laps. Up next was Snap Fitness Yamaha’s, Scott Keegan. Keegan took the victory yesterday but didn’t quite have the pace to match Ruprecht, he finished approximately 25 seconds behind Ruprecht with his 37:21.656. The final podium spot belonged to Tom Jones on his Yamaha, finishing in the same position as yesterday. Jones registered an accumulated time of 37:51.620.

E2
This weekend once again belonged to Daniel Milner of the KTM Enduro Team. Milner remains undefeated for Yamaha AORC in 2017. Milner described the successful weekend. “The racing was a lot of fun, Lyndon and myself have both enjoyed great results,” Milner said. “I did all I could out there to win and we’ve got the right team to achieve those results. It was tricky out there and it got really powdery. It took a while to adjust to the conditions but it was awesome, to be honest. There was a bit of hard packed down terrain that had a sharp edge to it. We’re all dealing with the same conditions though, I just wanted to go out there, hit the sand and get the desired result!”
Riley Graham has been one of the standout riders of the weekend, and has provided Milner with a challenge at times. Graham is a local rider and has really taken to the Renmark track. Graham on the Yamaha finished approximately 15 seconds behind with a 35:14.966. Josh Green once again finished in third place. Typically, Green has been Milner’s greatest threat but couldn’t quite manage to compete for the victory. The Active8 Yamaha Yamalube Racing Team rider finished with a 35:56.460.

E3
The standout rider all weekend for E3 has been Lyndon Snodgrass. KTM Enduro Team rider Snodgrass has been in a heated battle with Husqvarna Enduro Team‘s Lachlan Stanford of the Husqvarna Enduro Team all year long. Stanford registered a time of 35:12.698. This weekend’s results have gone a long way to put Snodgrass back in control of the championship fight. Snodgrass managed to finish approximately 33 seconds in front of Stanford. Tom Mason was the final podium placer on a KTM. Mason finished only five seconds behind Stanford with a time of 37:51.620.

Transmoto EJ
Fraser Higlett once again took victory for the Under 19’s Transmoto EJ class on his Husqvarna. Higlett simply keeps getting better and better and his pace around the Renmark tracks was sensational with a time of 36:45.036. Nic Tomlinson had an impressive switch this weekend to a Yamaha. Only five seconds separated Higlett and Tomlinson with a time of 36:50.394. Michael Driscoll finished the podium places for EJ, he finished a further four seconds behind on his Yamaha. Driscoll registered a 36:59.764.

Yamaha AORC Championship Standings

E1

1       Wil RUPRECHT 139
2       Scott KEEGAN 134
3       Baylee DAVIES 102
4       Brad HARDAKER 100
5       Jack SIMPSON 89
6       Justin PARKER 80
7       Tom JONES 40
8       Simon BOYD 34
9       Rick IRELAND 32
10      Kristian SPRENGER 29

E2
1       Daniel MILNER 150
2       Josh GREEN 128
3       Riley GRAHAM 119
4       Stefan GRANQUIST 104
5       Broc GRABHAM 98
6       Andrew WILKSCH 65
7       Daniel COLLINS 41
8       Kaleb TREASURE 40
9       Seth MULLER 30
10      Ivan LONG 27

E3
1       Lachlan STANFORD      141
2       Lyndon SNODGRASS 141
3       Tom MASON 120
4       Jesse LAWTON 63
5       Beau RALSTON 36
6       Kane HALL 36
7       Joel JAMES 34
8       Lincoln BIRD 33
9       Troy SHERIDAN 30
10      Hayden CONROY 30

EJ
1       Fraser HIGLETT 139
2       Michael DRISCOLL 134
3       Nic TOMLINSON 102
4       Johnson DALTON 100
5       Jonte REYNDERS 89
6       Jacob PEACOCK 80
7       Seton BROOMHALL 40
8       Lachlan ALLAN 34
9       Jack MATTHEWS 32
10      Luke STRAUCH 29