Recap: AORC – Round 7 At Broken Hill

Four seasons in one day. That adequately describes the experience for all riders and teams here at Broken Hill for Round 7 of the 2019 Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championship (AORC). After a thrilling Prologue which saw Daniel “Chucky” Sanders (Husqvarna Enduro Racing Team) claim pole position with the fastest time of the day, and then back it up today with the fastest time for the entire field. Over eight laps of a 27-kilometre course, Josh Brierley (Nowra Motorcycles, Husqvarna) claimed his first class win of the season in EJ, and Lyndon Snodgrass (KTM Enduro Racing Team), Daniel Milner (KTM Enduro Racing Team) and Chucky took the win for E1, E2 and E3.
Here are the official results, news and highlights from Motorcycling Australia…

E1

With an intensely concentrated class in terms of talent, an E1 victory is always hard-fought and today’s Cross-Country was absolutely no exception. Over nine laps, Snodgrass claimed a well-earnt win ahead of the current leader, Luke Styke (Active8 Yamaha Yamalube), with a time of 3:33:53.624. Styke settled for second, with a total time of 3:37:10.062. Third place was won by Husqvarna’s Fraser Higlett, with a total time today of 3:40:47.695.

Lyndon Snodgrass: “Today was good out here in Broken Hill. It was pretty brutal out there but I hung in there to get the class win. The conditions were tough with sections where you couldn’t see much, but when the wind blew the dirt away from you, life was a little bit easier.”

2019 AORC Round 7 E1 Top 5 Provisional Results:

Lyndon Snodgrass (KTM Enduro Racing Team) 3:33:53.624
Luke Styke (Active8 Yamaha Yamalube) 3:37:10.062
Fraser Higlett (Husqvarna Enduro Racing Team) 3:40:47.695
Michael Driscoll (Active8 Yamaha Yamalube) 3:45:10.016
Lachlan Allan (Kawasaki Castrol Oil Off-Road Team) 3:36:28.932 (+1 lap)

E2

Round 7 marks another notch onto Milner’s perfect season belt, as he flew right into first place for E2 with a total time of 3:32:28.447. Even with a larger bike and injuries sustained over the past few months, Milner just couldn’t be beaten, with Josh Green (Active8 Yamaha Yamalube) conceding for second place, just 2 minutes and 24 seconds behind. Yamaha MX Store Ballards Off-Road Team’s Jeremy Carpentier stole away the final podium position today, crossing the finish line with a total time of 3:43:10.771.

Daniel Milner: “The conditions out here were pretty crazy, so my day was rough! I know I said last year was the driest I’ve ever seen it, but this year the conditions are definitely the driest I’ve ever seen. I’m absolutely stoked to get through the day! I pushed as hard as I could and did everything I could to get the win!”

2019 AORC Round 7 E2 Top 5 Provisional Results:

Daniel Milner (KTM Enduro Racing Team) 3:32:38.447
Joshua Green (Active8 Yamaha Yamalube) 3:35:03.182
Jeremy Carpentier (Yamaha MX Store Ballards Off-Road Team) 3:43:10.771
Stefan Granquist (Yamaha) 3:51:02.671
William Price (Kessner KTM) 3:34:55.335 (+1 lap)

E3

Coming into this weekend, Chucky had clocked up a total of 707 Championship points to his name since starting back in 2013. Riding on that high and his pole from Prologue yesterday, Chucky was a sight to be seen as he jumped light years ahead of everyone to achieve the fastest time of the day, 3:27:58.853. With first-place well and truly won, second place was clinched by Motul Pirelli Sherco Team’s Andy Wilksch, with a total time of 3:41:54.481. Podium regular, Beau Ralston (Schwarz Excavation Husqvarna JWP) unfortunately couldn’t meet the speed and agility of Alexander Bolton (Bolton Motorcycles), who rode into third place with a total time of 3:43:09.027, just 16 seconds ahead of Ralston.

Daniel Sanders: “Today was good. I took off from the first start today which helped me put in a clean gap, marking a major change from this time last year in Broken Hill. The conditions were tough but you just had to keep wiping the goggles and manage the high speeds. Come to the end of the day, I’m just happy to finish safely.”

2019 AORC Round 7 E3 Top 5 Provisional Results:

Daniel Sanders (Husqvarna Enduro Racing Team) 3:27:58.853
Andy Wilksch (Motul Pirelli Sherco Team) 3:41:54.481
Alexander Bolton (Bolton Motorcycles) 3:43:09.027
Beau Ralston (Schwarz Excavation Husqvarna JWP) 3:43:26.025
Jesse Lawton (Thor MX) 3:34:44.600 (+1 lap)

EJ

Following on from major upset yesterday in EJ, our class victor was none other than Brierley, who has continuously nipped at Kyron Bacon’s (MX Store, KTM) heels all season for a taste at glory. With a total time of 3:48:09.162, Brierley finished ahead of Korey McMahon (KTM Australia), whom he was enjoying a fantastic tango with up until the final lap, in which McMahon suffered a crash that extended Brierley’s lead. McMahon was awarded second place with a total time of 3:23:09.723 (+1 lap), followed by Bacon in third with a total time of 3:28:38.655 (+1 lap).

Joshua Brierley: “The conditions out there were really tough, but, overall my day went really well and I am so happy to come away with the win.”