Gear Beats Stephens To The J3 Win Here In Cherrabah

It was nearly a mirror of Round 1 here in Cherrabah in the Junior classes, for Round 2 of the 2022 Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championship presented by MXstore (AORC). Ollie Gear (Sinclair Electrical Naracoorte, Limestone Coast Motorcycles) wasn’t satisfied with this though and rattled the leadership, taking out the gold in J3 ahead of yesterday’s victor, Levi Stephens (True Painting, KTM Newcastle). 

Claiming consecutive wins was Harley Hutton (Yamaha Motor Australia), Mason Phillips, Jett Yarnold (Supermoto New England, Yamaha Australia), Danielle McDonald (Yamaha JGR Ballard’s Off Road team) and Cooper Clarke in J1, J2, J4, JG and JJ.

Today’s racing featured six Sprint laps across the Offroad Advantage test. Riders were greeted once again by muddy conditions that turned dry and dusty as the racing progressed, making for challenging game plays. 

J1

Aboard his YZ85, Hutton established dominance in J1 early. He rode into first place comfortably, finishing six laps with a total time of 1:02:01.748. In second place was Chase Weston (Tdub, ProCoat Aus), with a total time of 1:05:14.312. 

Though Weston was quiet on the leaderboard yesterday, he clearly used his experience from Round 1 to jump ahead of the competition today. Clinching third place by nearly a minute ahead of Drake Hutton (Belle Property Samford Racing) was Noah Mickelborough (QB4, ATD Customs), with a total time of 1:12:09.878. 2022 AORC J1 Top 5 Provisional Results:

1. Harley Hutton (Yamaha Motor Australia) 1:02:01.748
2. Chase Weston (Tdub, ProCoat Aus) 1:05:14.312
3. Noah Mickelborough (QB4, ATD Customs) 1:12:09.878
4. Drake Hutton (Belle Property Samford Racing) 1:13:07.004
5. Samuel Scott 1:15:02.348

J2

Similar to Hutton in J1, Phillips remained well ahead of the pack in J2. With a total time of 58:58.022, Phillips took out the gold with an impressive lead of over one minute!

Claiming the remaining two spots on the Round 2 podium was James Chaille and Jesse Ryan (Guts Racing Aus, Tunetech Suspension), who each clocked times of 1:00:13.533 and 1:00:39.436 respectively. 

2022 AORC J2 Top 5 Provisional Results:

1. Mason Phillips 58:58.022
2. James Chaille 1:00:13.533
3. Jesse Ryan (Guts Racing Aus, Tunetech Suspension) 1:00:39.436
4. Marcus Nowland 1:01:26.637
5. Mitch Ford (Rynopower, Furnikation) 1:01:41.973

J3

Now we come to a thrilling upset to the leaderboard in J3, where Gear pushed his YZ125 relentlessly to win the gold. After six laps, Gear clocked in a total time of 53:59.401. KTM mounted Stephens rode into second place, roughly 20 seconds behind Gear with a total time of 54:20.470. 

Claiming bronze was Charlie Connolly, who finished today’s Sprints with a total time of 55:38.459. 

2022 AORC J3 Top 5 Provisional Results:

1. Ollie Gear (Sinclair Electrical Naracoorte, Limestone Coast Motorcycles) 53:59.401
2. Levi Stephens (True Painting, KTM Newcastle) 54:20.470
3. Charlie Connolly 55:38.459
4. Mason Boucher (Maben Racing) 57:11.253
5. Lachlan Metcalf (Simford Motorsports Group, SS Citrus) 57:51.838

J4 

Nearly two minutes ahead of his competition, Yarnold set a red hot pace in J4. Winning first place with a total time of 49:19.398, Yarnold was followed by Davey Gear (Sinclair Electrical Naracoorte, Limestone Coast Motorcycles Naracoorte) into second place.

Gear finished Round 2 with a total time of 51:42.593. Last but not least, third place was won by Tate Young, with a total time of 53:17.821.

2022 AORC J4 Top 5 Provisional Results:

1. Jett Yarnold (Supermoto New England, Yamaha Australia) 49:19.398
2. Davey Gear (Sinclair Electrical Naracoorte, Limestone Coast Motorcycles Naracoorte) 51:42.593
3. Tate Young 53:17.821
4. Eli Tripcony 55:18.679
5. Joshua Coates (TDub Garage) 57:54.178

JG

Over in JG, McDonald assumed top dog position with a sizable near six minute lead! Winning first place with a total time of 55:36.689, McDonald beat Madi Simpson, who conceded second.

After six laps, Simpson finished with a total time of 1:01:11.234. Riding into third place was Jade Chellas with a total time of 1:07:05.663.

2022 AORC JG Top 5 Provisional Results:

1. Danielle McDonald (Yamaha JGR Ballard’s Off Road team) 55:36.689
2. Madi Simpson 1:01:11.234
3. Jade Chellas 1:07:05.663
4. Aubrey Moller 1:09:19.775
5. Fynleh Duncombe 1:12.55.768

JJ

On to our JJ class, Clarke remained confidently in first place throughout today’s racing. He finished Round 2 with a total time of 1:17:32.589, ahead of Casey Schmidt with a time of 1:22:36.425.

Hot Schmidt’s heels was Leo Tripcony. After six laps though, Tripcony accepted third place with a total time of 1:22:57.968. 

2022 AORC JJ Top 5 Provisional Results:

1. Cooper Clarke 1:17:32.589
2. Casey Schmidt 1:22:36.425
3. Leo Tripcony 1:22:57.968
4. Alex Burow (Airconditioning Queensland) 1:33:18.861
5. Dylan Diete 1:35:36.414

Competitors will now head to Mackay, Queensland for Round 3 & 4, from 8-9 April for back-to-back Enduro. Find out more here.

Words by Caitlin Hynes. Images by Troy Pears.