Clean sweep for 7 victors at QMP

It was a weekend of hard work and hard racing here at Queensland Moto Park (QMP), resulting in sweet wins for the lucky few. Rounds 7 & 8 of the 2024 Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championship presented by MXstore (AORC) featured a timecard Enduro for our Seniors and J4 classes, whilst our remaining Juniors and EWD tackled Sprints.

The top step was claimed consecutively by Rowan Pumpa (Kessner Motorcycles, Motorex) in EM, John Baker (KTM) in EL, Trent Puddy (Carbide Race Team) in 2T, Madi Simpson (Honda Ride Red, Fly Racing) in JG, Mitch Ford (Lusty Industries, Motorex) in J3, Drake Hutton (Belle Property Samford) in J1 and Lachlan Devlin (Devlin Electrical, Yamaha) in JJ. Our Senior classes and J4 tackled a timecard Enduro, whilst our Junior classes and EWD navigated Sprints.

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

EV

All the action was up top in EV, as Mark Cook (Dubbo City Motorcycles, KTM), Dale Schmitke (BFR, KT), Joe Watson (Buderim Air, Beta) and Joel Seaby (Honda) battled it out for the top step. For Round 7, Cook claimed first place and produced a whopping lead of over two-minutes! Seaby and Watson rode into second and third place, respectively.

After Round 8 though, Schmitke jumped up into first, leaving Cook and Seaby in second and third place, respectively.

EM

It might not shock you but it’ll probably delight you to know that Rowan Pumpa has claimed even more glory in EM, with back-to-back class wins here at QMP. Pumpa smoked his competition, riding happily ahead of the pack. The action though, was definitely in the fight for second and third!

For Round 7, Vito Porto (Simford Group Motorsport) and Jason Hubbard (TDub, Husqvarna) claimed silver and bronze respectively, managing to fend off Sean Morris (Beta) for their spots on the podium. In Round 8 though, Morris clawed his way up to second, leaving Hubbard to take third.

EL

It was a clean sweep in EL as John Baker takes home another two class wins!

Behind Baker in second place for both Rounds 7 & 8, was Troy Henderson (KTM).

For third place though, Michael Byrnes (All parts & accessories, Gas Gas) claimed the bronze for Round 7 while Loui Stylianou (Gas Gas) took the final podium spot for Round 8.

2T

Trent Puddy had a very good weekend here at QMP, coming away with two first place finishes in 2T. Behind Puddy in second for both Rounds 7 & 8 was Levi Van Panhuisv 547 Sport Performance, ROC Moto). That left third place up for grabs and claimed by Harrison Strong (KTM) for Round 7, followed by Tim Newman (Clearview Innovations, Gas Gas) in Round 8.

EWD

The Emblem family had a strong presence in the EWD field this weekend! Charlie Emblem (Beta) claimed the top step for Round 7, followed by Ellie Horton (KTM) and Emily-Rose Higgs (Yamaha) in second and third, respectively. After Round 8 though, Horton jumped up into first, followed by Charlie Emblem and Jade Emblem (Husqvarna) in second and third, respectively.

J4

The top three in J4 had a fierce battle all weekend for the glory, tangoing back and forth for a chance at gold. Dylan McDonald clinched Round 7, leaving Bradley Rayner (KTM Newcastle) in second and Ollie Gear (Limestone Coast Motorcycles, Yamaha Australia) in third. During Round 8 though, Gear managed to push ahead to claim first, followed by McDonald and Rayner in second and third, respectively.

JG

Over in JG, the podium was immovable. Madi Simpson comfortably claimed two undisputed first place finishes. Simpson’s speed is clearly unmatched as she managed to clock off Round 8 with a lead of over 5-minutes!

Jade Chellas (Northbound Driver Training, KTM) claimed consecutive silver, followed by Kirra Pamenter (KTM) in third place.

J3

QMP has played host to a very good weekend for Mitch Ford, who walks away with back-to-back J3 wins! Marcus Nowland (Yamaha Australia) managed to have a consistent weekend as well, claiming consecutive second place finishes, producing impressive leads of nearly one-minute to protect his silver.

In third for Round 7 was Kai Austin (Coffs KTM, Wauchope Concreting) who beat Lachlan Roche (Amac Cranes, Yamaha) by almost one-second to the final podium spot! For Round 8 though, Harry Gilbertson (Fox Australia, KTM) came out of nowhere to clinch the bronze!

J2

The top of the J2 pack remained fairly consistent this weekend! Harley Hutton claimed the Round 7 win, with Levi Rossi (Kessner Motorcycles, KTM) hot on his heels. After Round 8 though, Rossi pushed past Hutton to claim gold with a near 30-second lead. Blake Brown (Carbide Race Team, Yamaha) claimed consecutive third place finishes this weekend in J2.

J1

It was Groundhog Day in J1 as the podium remained the same in both Rounds 7 & 8! Drake Hutton had a fantastic weekend here at QMP, claiming back-to-back J1 wins. As Hutton screamed ahead of the pack, the action was electric between Koby Munro (Powerhouse Motorcycles, Husqvarna) and Ryder Lambing (Gas Moto, KTM)! At the close of Round 7, Munro won silver with a near 1-second lead ahead of Lambing. Munro and Lambing also claimed respective second and third place finishes for Round 8.

JJ

Lachlan Devlin leaves QMP with all the glory in JJ, as he claims consecutive class wins! He had his work cut out for him though, as Banjo Sutherland (KTM) was right on his heels all weekend. For Round 7, Sutherland was almost one-second behind Devlin in the bid for glory.

Sutherland claimed back-to-back second place finishes this weekend.

Thomas Hathway (Eagle Powersports, Get Switched On Electrical) claimed the final podium spot for Round 7, followed by Brody Brown for Round 8.

That’s a wrap here in QMP! Next, we head south to Kingston SE for Rounds 9 & 10.

Words by Caitlin Hynes. Images by Troy Pears.