The second Australian Off Road Championship (AORC) weekend of the season in Mackay saw contrasting weather conditions and two different scratch winners as Andrew Wilksch and Kyron Bacon ticked off the wins.

Day two in Mackay saw the going get tough with slicker conditions and the winner from rounds one and two last month, Kyron Bacon was back on top of the timing sheets. “Tracks were pretty technical which was good.” Said Bacon on day one. “It got a bit fast and sketchy out there, but I kept consistent and came away with a win!”

Winning the E1 class across both days, Bacon clocked a total time 51:13.540 on the Yamaha and seemed at home on the slick and tricky tests. Blake Hollis and Korey McMahon were runners up across the two days.

Round 3, E1 top 5 results:

1. Kyron Bacon (Shop Yamaha Offroad Racing Team) 1:49:05.461
2. Blake Hollis (Shop Yamaha Offroad Racing Team) 1:52:29.974
3. Jeremy Carpentier (Yamaha JGR Ballard’s Off Road Team) 1:52:43.999
4. Cooper Sheidow (Kessner Motorcycles, KTM Australia) 1:53:17.562
5. Korey McMahon (GasGas Australia, Suttos Powersports) 1:53:20.461

Round 4 E1 Top 5 results:

1. Kyron Bacon (Shop Yamaha Offroad Racing Team) 51:13.540
2. Korey McMahon (GasGas Australia, Suttos Powersports) 52:51.132
3. Cooper Sheidow (Kessner Motorcycles, KTM Australia) 53:50.825
4. Blake Hollis (Shop Yamaha Offroad Racing Team) 54:05.265
5. Sam Pretscherer (Simford Motorsport, Gol Gol Hotel) 55:41.104

Four from four E2 wins for Green

E2 class is a hard knock school this AORC season but Josh Green has been the master taking four from four now. Green claimed first place in E2 with a total time of 1:49:05.256 on day one, a time which narrowly put him second scratch, ahead of Bacon by two tenths.

“My day was really good. It was a survival day because the tracks were tough, with a really good combination of everything on the tests, from high speeds to tight technical spots,” said Green on day one.

Michael Driscoll and Todd Waters continue to trade podium places behind Green in E2. Each took turns to place second in Mackay with Fraser Higlett fourth on both days.

Round 3, E2 top 5 results:

1. Joshua Green (Shop Yamaha Offroad Racing Team) 1:49:05.256
2. Todd Waters (Husqvarna Offroad Racing Team) 1:51:29.060
3. Michael Driscoll (Shop Yamaha Offroad Racing Team) 1:52:12.574
4. Fraser Higlett (Beta) 1:53:48.587
5. Caleb Ward (Portas Bikes and Power) 1:55:12.948

Round 4, E2 top 5 results:

1. Joshua Green (Shop Yamaha Offroad Racing Team) 52:09.815
2. Michael Driscoll (Shop Yamaha Offroad Racing Team) 52:29.422
3. Todd Waters (Husqvarna Offroad Racing Team) 52:35.233
4. Fraser Higlett (Beta) 55:10.998
5. Caleb Ward (Portas Bikes and Power) 56:00.543

Wilksch hits the sweet spot

The opening day in Mackay, round three of the AORC series, was well and truly Andrew Wilksch’s. The Simford Racing Husqvarna rider set about smoking the competition in E3 and overall form the first test and rounded out the day nearly one minute.

“Today was a really exciting day!” Said Wilksch. “I put myself in the lead early on and I just tried to keep it upright for the rest of the day. It was a good, challenging day of racing and I learnt a lot. The conditions played into my hand with the big 501.”

Day two in Mackay was a close fight in E3 between Wilksch, Jonte Reynders and Stefan Granquist. After some bad luck on day one, Sherco’s Reynders came out with a point to prove and claimed a well-deserved first place in an impressive total time of 51:14.829 – good enough for P2 scratch behind Bacon.

Granquist went from second in class on day one to third as Wilksch faught his way back up the sheets through the second day.

“My day went really well,” explained Reynders. “I finally stopped making mistakes and rode like I know I should, so I came out with the win in E3! I’m absolutely stoked with the result.

“Last night’s rain made it quite tricky. My 300 was comfortable out there but I basically went into cruise control because it so easy to make a mistake. In the end, I just worked to keep focused and avoid mistakes.”

Round 3, E1 top 5 results:

1. Andrew Wilksch (Simford Racing, Husqvarna) 1:48:12.207
2. Stefan Granquist (KTM Offroad Racing Team) 1:52:03.699
3. Jonte Reynders (Motul Pirelli Sherco Team) 1:52:32.763
4. Ashley Norman 1:56:36.241
5. Thomas McCormackv (MXstore, Ballards) 1:56:56.493

Round 4, E1 top 5 results:

1. Jonte Reynders (Motul Pirelli Sherco Team) 51:14.829
2. Andrew Wilksch (Simford Racing, Husqvarna) 52:06.651
3. Stefan Granquist (KTM Offroad Racing Team) 53:20.528
4. Ashley Norman 58:18.084
5. Luke Bunnik (Sherco Australia, Limestone Coast Motorcycles) 58:28.520

100 AORC starts for Gardiner

True to form, Jessica Gardiner took her JGR Ballard’s Yamaha to a double win in EW ahead of Emelie Karlsson and Ebony Nielson. The day one format was a tough one on all riders as Gardiner explains:

“Tracks were pretty different to what we’re used to. Parts of the track asked me to dig deep and send it hard, so the stress on my body was tough.”

Gardiner made a significant mark in the AORC history books by clocking up her 100th race start at round four where she took victory once again.

Round 3 EW top 5 results:

1. Jessica Gardiner (Yamaha JGR Ballard’s Off Road Team) 2:09:29.387
2. Emelie Karlsson (KTM Offroad Racing Team) 2:15:50.689
3. Ebony Nielsen 2:18:10.141
4. Zoe Boccari (MPE Motorcycles, MPE Suspension) 2:29:41.656
5. Charlotte Gamble 2:30:13.356

Round 4 EW top 5 results:

1. Jessica Gardiner (Yamaha JGR Ballard’s Off Road Team) 1:03:34.931
2. Emelie Karlsson (KTM Offroad Racing Team) 1:05:55.090
3. Ebony Nielsen 1:17.47.272
4. Charlotte Gamble 1:49:39.674

For more information and results from all classes: www.aorc.org.au

The AORC field heads south to Kyogle, New South Wales for rounds 5 & 6 on 16-17 July.

In OZ? Tune in to SBS on Sunday 17 April at 1pm to watch the action from the opening weekend in Cherrabah, for Rounds 1 & 2.

Photo Credit: AORC | Troy Pears