Clean sweep for Cook, Pumpa, Gear, Simpson and Devlin

If you were to describe Round 5 & 6 here in Edenhope, ‘easy’ or ‘could’ve done it in my sleep’ probably wouldn’t be high on the list. Instead, this weekend of racing of the 2024 Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championship presented by MXstore (AORC) put all racers through their paces.

Gold was clinched on Saturday by Mark Cook (Dubbo City Motorcycles, Rooftek Plumbing)  in EV, Rowan Pumpa (Kessner Motorcycles, Motorex) in EM, David Fleming (GASGAS) in EL, Ollie Gear (Limestone Coast Motorcycles, Yamaha Australia) in J4, Madi Simpson (Honda Ride Red, Fly Racing) in JG, Harry Gilbertson (Fox Australia, Brandt John Deere) in J3, Levi Rossi (Paint Tech SA, Tonyin Australia) in J2, Ryder Lambing (Gas Moto, KTM) in J1 and Lachlan Devlin (Devlin Electrical, Yamaha) in JJ.

Sunday saw consecutive wins by Cook in EV, Pumpa in EM, Gear in J4, Simpson in JG and Devlin in JJ. New victors included Troy Henderson (KTM) in EL, Mitch Ford (Lusty Industries, Motorex) in J3, Harley Hutton (GYTR Yamaha Junior Racing) in J2 and Drake Hutton (Belle Property Samford, Yamaha) in J1.

To view provisional results for all classes, please click here.

EV

He’s cooked up a storm here in Edenhope! Mark Cook claimed back-to-back EV wins, beating the likes of Ian Derwent, Brett McDonnell and Mark Paton to the glory.

Brett McDonnell took out second place on Saturday, followed by Ian Derwent in third. On Sunday though, Derwent jumped up into second, ahead of Paton in third.

EM

It was another undisputed, clean sweep for Pumpa as he leaves Edenhope with back-to-back EM wins! His strongest contender all weekend was Evan Blackstock, who claimed consecutive second place finishes for Rounds 5 & 6.

Rounding out the podium was Anthony Greene on Saturday and Miller Hinds on Sunday.

EL

You had to witness the tango in EL for yourself this weekend, as David Fleming and Troy Henderson danced back and forth for the top step. Saturday was won by Fleming, followed by Henderson on Sunday.

Last but certainly not least was Loui Stylianou and Jamie Armstrong, who claimed bronze on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.

J4

Ollie Gear utterly dominated the J4 field all weekend! He leaves Edenhope with two back-to-back gold medals under his arm, clocking up impressive times that created sizeable gaps between himself and the competition.

The remaining podium positions was fought over by Bradley Rayner and Dylan McDonald. On Saturday, McDonald clinched the silver, leaving Rayner the bronze. On Sunday though the situation flipped, with Rayner with silver and McDonald with bronze.

JG

It’s Madi Simpson’s world, we’re just living in it! The Honda racer has claimed another weekend of back-to-back wins in JG, utterly destroying any chance of her competition attempting to claim the win.

Behind Simpson in second place for Saturday and Sunday was Jade Chellas.

Chellas was followed onto the podium was Mia Kennedy in third for Round 5, and Sinead Maher in third for Round 6.

J3

The competition was fierce in J3 this weekend, especially in the top three! On Saturday, Harry Gilbertson claimed a fantastic first place win, leaving Mitch Ford for second and Kai Austin for third.

Sunday shook up the field though, with Ford in first place, Austin jumping up into second and Gilbertson falling to third.

J2

Levi Rossi had a fantastic start to the weekend here in Edenhope, claiming the top step in J2! He was followed onto the podium by Harley Hutton and Liam Egan, in second and third place respectively.

Round 6 saw a shake up to the rankings, with Hutton climbing up into first, ahead of Rossi and Egan in second and third, respectively.

J1

Round 5 in J1 saw Ryder Lambing claim the top step, just ahead of Koby Munro in second. Rounding out the podium was Drake Hutton.

After Round 6 though, Hutton came in with a point to prove, absolutely smoking the competition to claim first place. Lambing conceded for second, followed by Munro in third.

JJ

Congratulations are in order for Lachlan Devlin, who has claimed consecutive JJ wins here in Edenhope! Devlin had a hard fight for the win, with mere seconds separating him and second place on Sunday.

For Round 5, Devlin was joined on the podium by Mason Sawyer and Banjo Sutherland, in second and third respectively. For Round 6, Devlin was joined by Sutherland and Thomas Hathway, in second and third respectively.

That’s a wrap here in Edenhope! Next, we head north to Queensland Moto Park for Rounds 7 & 8. For more information, news and updates, visit aorc.org.au.

Words by Caitlin Hynes. Images by Troy Pears.