Glory For Gardiner, Ralph and Hutton In Kyogle
Our Women’s, Veterans and Masters were back with a fury today as we returned from a three-month mid-season break in the Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championship (AORC). In fantastic conditions, navigating a highly technical track, Kyogle put on a superb show for our competitors as they battled it out in a Sprint format for Round 5 glory. Coming out victorious though was Jessica Gardiner (Yamaha MXStore Ballards Off-Road Team) in Women’s, Dan Ralph in Veterans and Kirk Hutton (Yamaha Motor Australia) in Masters.
These three classes tackled a long, technical test on the Yamaha YZ track.
Women’s
Returning after a substantial break with no change to her attack on maintaining her Championship title, Gardiner finished in first today for Round 5, with a total time of 1:41:08.370. Gardiner had a fantastic battle today with Swedish blister, Emelie Karlsson (Yamaha Motor Australia) who continued to bite at Gardiner’s heels all day, finishing just behind in second place with a total time of 1:41:22.515. Rounding out the podium today was Ebony Nielsen on her KTM 250, with a total time of 1:45:01.780.
Finishing just shy of a podium finish was Emelie Milesevic (Honda RideRed) and Danielle Foot (Road & River Motorcycles, Sherco) , in fourth and fifth respectively.
“Today was a really great day, battling it out with Em for the win! The tests are really technical and tight but were good fun to ride,” explained Gardiner.
“We came from Hattah only two fortnights ago and although I’m still finding red dirt everywhere, that experience and training on the bike has definitely helped me prepare for this weekend!”
AORC Women’s Round 5 Top 10 Provisional Results:
- Jessica Gardiner (Yamaha MXStore Ballards Off-Road Team) 1:41:08.370
- Emelie Karlsson (Yamaha Motor Australia) 1:41:22.515
- Ebony Nielsen 1:45:01.780
- Emma Milesevic (Honda RideRed) 1:46:24.951
- Danielle Foot (Road & River Motorcycles, Sherco) 1:50:55.407
- Emi Ruprecht 1:51:24.339
- Charlotte Gamble (Pete’s Trackside) 1:58:16.894
- Ivy Cross 2:02:40.608
- Julie Denyer 2:03:29.749
- Zoe Boccari 2:04:24.375
Veterans
Clocking in the fastest time today for the Women’s, Veterans and Masters classes was Ralph, with a total time of 1:35:12.789. Sliding effortlessly into first place, second was clinched by Damian Smith, with a total time of 1:36:15.670. Claiming the final podium spot for Round 5 was none other than Lee Stephens, who clocked in a total time today of 1:38:08.416.
AORC Veterans Round 5 Top 10 Provisional Results:
- Dan Ralph 1:35:12.789
- Damian Smith 1:36:15.670
- Lee Stephens 1:38:08.416
- Christopher Thomas 1:40:07.760
- Daniel Sawtell 1:41:13.471
- Jason Pearce 1:41:57.714
- Paul Chadwick 1:44:47.335
- Luke Ablitt 1:45:07.784
- Phil Newman 1:48:40.875
- Daniel Wall 1:52:43.909
Masters
Blazing a trail today to come out on top after a long winter break was Hutton, who finished Round 5 with a total time of 1:36:30.072. Clipping consistently at Hutton’s heels today though, was Timothy Martin, who settled into a well-deserved second place finish with a total time of 1:40:36.564. Completing today’s Masters podium was Craig Treasure, with a total time of 1:45:25.918.
AORC Masters Round 5 Top 10 Provisional Results:
- Kirk Hutton (Yamaha Motor Australia) 1:36:30.072
- Timothy Martin 1:40:36.564
- Craig Treasure 1:45:25.918
- John Murray 1:46:24.284
- Ian McGillivray (Bright & District Electrical Services) 1:47:04.033
- Hank Wilkes 1:47:15.758
- Peter Rudd (Kessner Motorcycles) 1:47:16.662
- Hamish Guy 1:48:06.013
- Shane Dawson 1:50:01.095
- David Pratten 1:50:03.401
AORC returns tomorrow for Round 6 of the 2019 Championship. Our Women’s, Veterans and Masters will tackle a new track, the Yamaha WR 450F.
Don’t miss a minute of the action of the 2019 Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championship by visiting the AORC Website at aorc.org.au, or by following the Yamaha AORC on Twitter and Facebook as well as @aorc on Instagram. Don’t forget to download the Official AORC app via Team App. It’s as easy as download Team App and search ‘AORC’!
Images courtesy of John Pearson Media
