Recap: AORC Round 9 – Coonalpyn

The conditions were pristine and the racing was second to none. One rider who, you could argue, would sum up the weekend as perfect would be Daniel Sanders (Husqvarna Enduro Racing Team), who came away today as the undisputed 2019 Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championship (AORC) E3-class Champion, as well as clocking in the fastest Outright time for both days’ racing.
Celebrating alongside Chucky, though not for Championship success but for the Round 9 win, was Luke Styke in the E1 class, Daniel Milner in E2 and Kyron Bacon in EJ.

E1

He backed it up again today to strengthen his lead in the E1 class, with the same focus and ferocity we’ve come to know all year. Styke finished his seven laps on the bLU cRU test with a total time of 1:12:31.488, just ahead of KTM’s Lyndon Snodgrass by nearly 16 seconds.
Snodgrass closed off Round 9 with a total time of 1:12:56.788, fighting tooth and nail to get as close to the first place gold as he could.
Third place was comfortably secured by Husqvarna’s Fraser Higlett, with a total time of 1:13:44.746.

Luke Styke: “My day was good and it was even better backing it up from yesterday. I’m pretty ecstatic actually,” confirmed Styke.
“I just need to stay focussed and prepare for the Victorian round in two weeks time.
“The competition between me and Snodgrass right now is always great. I had heard that he is pretty comfortable in these sorts of conditions so for me to get on top of him was pretty great!”

2019 AORC Round 9 E1 Top 6 Provisional Results:

Luke Styke (Active8 Yamaha Yamalube) 1:12:31.488
Lyndon Snodgrass (KTM Enduro Racing Team) 1:12:56.788
Fraser Higlett (Husqvarna Enduro Racing Team) 1:13:44.746
Michael Driscoll (Active8 Yamaha Yamalube) 1:15:14.966
Lachlan Allan (Kawasaki Castrol Off-Road Team) 1:22:05.396
Alexander Rudloff (Kawasaki Castrol Off-Road Team) 1:30:13.097

E2

True to form, Milner was a vision of KTM orange as he flew across the bLU cRU test track, clocking in a total time of 1:10:59.206 and earning first place in the E2 class. Following close behind as a stream of Yamaha blue was Josh Green (Acitve8 Yamaha Yamalube), who rode across the finish line with a total time of 1:13:21.455.
Rounding out the E2 podium today was Jeremy Carpentier (Yamaha MX Store Ballards Off Road Team), who claimed third place by the skin of his teeth ahead of Matthew Phillips (MX Store, KTM)

Daniel Milner: “Round 9 it wasn’t too bad and the track was unbelievable,” highlighted Milner. “The track varied from deep, deep sand to hard-packed layouts so it was really interesting preparing the 450XCF for the conditions.
“I luckily didn’t have any bingles today but there was one close call where I had to thread the needles between two hay bales when I pushed it a bit too hard.
“I’m still feeling pretty beat up today, and I don’t think my fitness is where I need it to be. Ever since the mid-season break my fitness hasn’t been the same. Coming into Hedley my main focus is just to rest and recover so I’m as fit and healthy as I can be.”

2019 AORC Round 9 E2 Top 10 Provisional Results:

Daniel Milner (KTM Enduro Racing Team) 1:10:59.206
Josh Green (Active8 Yamaha Yamalube) 1:13:21.455
Jeremy Carpentier (Yamaha MX Store Ballards Off-Road Team) 1:14:50.294
Matthew Phillips (MX Store, KTM) 1:14:51.763
Riley Graham 1:17:17.16
Stefan Granquist (Yamaha) 1:17:44.224
William Price 1:18:44.054
Brad Hardaker (Banana Coast Pest Control) 1:19:09.284
Nathan Trigg (Motul Pirelli Sherco Team) 1:21:19.279
Sean Throup 1:21:31.634

E3

The man of the moment, Chucky! Claiming back-to-back fastest times this weekend, Chucky has now achieved an insurmountable amount of points for any other E3 competitor to become the 2019 AORC E3 Champion!
With a total time of 1:09:31.089, Chucky finished ahead of Motul Pirelli Sherco Racing Team’s Andy Wilksch, who finished his seven laps with a total time of 1:15:33.329.
The third and final podium was taken by Alex Bolton (Bolton Motorcycles), with a total time of 1:16:50.317.

Daniel Sanders: “It’s a pretty great feeling to take out the 2019 E3 Champion title here in Coonalpyn,” gushed Chucky. “The competition out there is fantastic and it was a real shame that Beau couldn’t be here for another battle, but unfortunately he couldn’t make it due to injury. Although I have the AORC title wrapped up, the year is definitely not over! We still have ISDE later on this year and of course, Hedley in two weeks, so I need to remain focussed to keep up my form.”

2019 AORC Round 9 E3 Top 9 Provisional Results:

Daniel Sanders (Husqvarna Enduro Racing Team) 1:09:31.089
Andy Wilksch (Motul Pirelli Sherco Team) 1:15:33.329
Alex Bolton (Bolton Motorcycles) 1:16:50.317
Jesse Lawton (Thor MX) 1:18:58.170
Matt Murry (Kawasaki Castrol Off-Road Team) 1:21:08.809
Luke Bunnik 1:23:07.079
Rory Hill 1:26:00.817
Joel James 1:26:45.099
Tom Devries 1:15:13.719

EJ

Josh Brierley (Nowra Motorcycles, Husqvarna) may have been the man in EJ yesterday, but it was Bacon who took out the win today with a total time of 1:15:49.689. Second place was clinched by Korey McMahon (KTM Australia), who tussled all day with Brierley, coming out on top with a total time of 1:16:20.456.
Brierley conceded for third place today, coming in hot after McMahon with a total time of 1:16:53.314.

Kyron Bacon: “I’m so happy to come away with the win today,” explained Bacon. “I had a great battle out there with Josh and Korey, which made for a tough but really fun day of racing! We were also able to remain consistent and avoid too many mistakes, so I’m really happy with how today went!”