DANIEL MILNER CLAIMS FIFTH OUTRIGHT AORC TITLE!

As we revealed last Friday, KTM DM31 Racing’s Daniel Milner may have come into last weekend’s Australian Off-Road Championship’s (AORC) series decider at Nowra with a decent buffer in both the E2 and Outright points standings. But the truth of the matter is that the multiple AORC, A4DE and ISDE champ had just undergone shoulder surgery and wasn’t sure whether he’d be physically capable of racing the AORC series finale, let alone defending his points lead.

Somehow, the gritty 33-year-old toughed it out and (with 7-4 and 4-3 finishes in Outright and E2 class, respectively) salvaged enough points to come away from the weekend with his fifth AORC Outright title in the bag – a feat that matched Toby Price’s long-standing record of five AORC Outright wins!

Here’s an excerpt of the KTM DM31 Racing team’s PR in the wake of the achievement…

After sustaining a shoulder injury in the previous rounds at Kingston SE, Daniel Milner still held a 26-point lead in the E2 class (and 24 points in the Outright standings), but he’d had minimal bike-time heading into the final two rounds of the 2024 season.

As such, the KTM DM31 Racing team owner/rider entered Nowra’s progressively dusty and rough Sprints cautiously, content to circulate for P4 on Saturday and to keep mistakes to a minimum. Sunday’s final round saw him build up his pace as he found more confidence in the demands his shoulder could take, and he ended the day in P3 aboard his KTM 450EXC-F – more than enough to capture this year’s E2-class and Outright championships.

Milner’s 2024 victory sees him equal Toby Price’s Australian record of five AORC Outright titles, in addition to 10 class and Australian 4-Day Enduro (A4DE) Championships, sealing his position as one of the country’s all-time great off-road competitors.

Daniel Milner: “To have matched the record of five AORC championships and 10 titles … I don’t think it’s sunk in yet, as it’s something I’ve had my eye on for quite some time. I hadn’t really ridden since Kingston SE, because I wanted to give my shoulder as much time as possible to recover. As a result, yeah, I was pretty nervous entering Saturday’s racing. Yesterday’s tests included parts of the motocross track and some big bumps, and I didn’t feel very confident out there, but today’s tests were more flowy and I was able to push a bit more without worrying about my shoulder. Once I got myself into a good position early in the day, I was able to then slow up, manage it to the end, and do what I needed to do to win the title.”

Meanwhile, Milner’s teammate, Tom Buxton, wrapped up his inaugural year of racing AORC with an impressive third Overall in the E1 championship standings, and eighth Outright. Buxton and his KTM 250EXC-F stayed composed and in control across both rounds to finish his weekend without incident and with another two third-place round results to his name.

Tom Buxton: “It was a challenging weekend here in Nowra. It was dry, dusty and got progressively sketchy as the weekend went on. Everyone seemed to crash out around me, but I just focused on trying to be smooth, and stayed on two wheels both days. I was happy to keep consistent times all weekend, and finishing third in the E1 championship is a good way to finish my first season. It’s one of those years where you wish you were further up the points, but I know what I need to work on for next year. I learnt a lot, being part of Dan’s team, and it’ll be good to go into 2025 with more knowledge and experience under my belt.”

In the E3 class, KTM-mounted McGillivray – the champion from one year ago – consolidated his runner-up position in the standings with a pair of third-place results at Nowra. Aboard the KTM 500EXC-F, the 20-year-old remained consistent through the roots, dust and water crossings to seal a satisfying P2 finish in the 2024 series.

Riley McGillivray: “After I hurt myself in the middle of the year at Edenhope, I’ve struggled to get back to the pace I need to fight for wins, but to take P2 in the championship is still pretty satisfying. While two thirds aren’t a bad way to end my second year in E3, I was looking for a bit more, to be honest – I want to get back to winning as that’s what we put the work in for. I’m looking forward to having a good off-season, then start building again for next year, so we can get ourselves back to the front and winning again.”

2024 AORC – FINAL STANDINGS*

OUTRIGHT

1. Daniel Milner (KTM, E2 class) – 254 points
2. Kyron Bacon (Yamaha, E1 class) – 242 points
3. Jonte Reynders (Sherco, E2 class) – 232 points
4. Korey McMahon (GASGAS, E1 class) – 205 points
5. Will Dennett (Yamaha, E2 class) – 194 points
6. Andy Wilksch (Beta, E2 class) – 178 points
7. Jye Dickson (Beta, E3 class) – 153 points
8. Tom Buxton (KTM, E1 class) – 142 points
9. Riley McGillivray (KTM, E3 class) – 112 points
10. Billy Hargy (Husqvarna, E3 class) – 109 points

For a full list of riders (all 39 of them!) who scored Outright points this season (ie, riders who finished in the top-20 positions Outright at any round), check out the PDF table below.

*Note that these results are provisional as the Outright table is created by Transmoto because Motorcycling Australia still doesn’t make AORC’s Outright points standings public (for reasons that remain not obvious!).