As we close the chapter on Round 6 here in Kyogle, New South Wales (NSW), the Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championship’s (AORC) Women’s, Veterans and Masters showcased their undisputed talent as they tackled the WR 450F test track. 

It was back-to-back class wins for both Jessica Gardiner (Yamaha MX Store Ballards Off-Road Team) for Women’s and Kirk Hutton (Yamaha Motor Australia) for Masters. In the Veterans class though, it was Damian Smith who took out the Round 6 win, knocking Dan Ralph off his Round 5 class win perch.

Women’s
Round 6 marks a momentous occasion for Gardiner, notching up six consecutive round wins, which is the first time she has managed such a feat since 2014! With a total time today of 1:29:13.827, Gardiner finished ahead of Emelie Karlsson (Yamaha Motor Australia), who settled for second place with a total time of 1:30:33.373. Locking in the third and final podium after Karlsson was Emma Milesevic (Honda RideRed Team), who pushed hard after a difficult Round 5 to finish today with a total time of 1:31:06.414.

Ebony Nielsen conceded for fourth place today, after a strong result in Round 5. Nielsen ended Round 6 with a total time of 1:32:10.592.

AORC Women’s Round 6 Top 10 Provisional Results:

1. Jessica Gardiner (Yamaha MX Store Ballards Off-Road Team) 1:29:13.827
2. Emelie Karlsson (Yamaha Motor Australia) 1:30:33.373
3. Emma Milesevic (Honda RideRed Team) 1:31:06.414
4. Ebony Nielsen 1:32:10.592
5. Danielle Foot (Road & River Motorcycles, Sherco) 1:41:39.284
6. Emi Ruprecht 1:42:17.401
7. Charlotte Gamble 1:45:25.802
8. Zoe Boccari 1:48:58.034
9. Julie Denyer1:49:22.934
10. Ivy Cross 1:55:15.096

Veterans
Knocking Ralph clean off his perch today was Smith, who took home the Round 6 Veterans win, with a total time of 1:25:04.425. Ralph came in hot after Smith, settling for second place with a total time of 1:25:25.477. Rounding out the podium for the Veterans today was Lee Stephens, who clocked in with a total time of 1:26:29.090.

AORC Veterans Round 6 Top 10 Provisional Results:

1. Damian Smith 1:25:04.425
2. Dan Ralph 1:25:25.477
3. Lee Stephens 1:26:29.090
4. Christopher Thomas 1:29:08.721
5. Jason Pearce 1:30:57.630
6. Daniel Sawtell 1:31:09.695
7. Paul Chadwick 1:33:10.721
8. Luke Ablitt 1:34:29.773
9. Phil Newman 1:38:37.913
10. Brendan Knight 1:39:08.850

Masters
It was nothing but success for Hutton today, as he took out a consecutive Masters class win, finishing today with a total time of 1:24:46.594. Second place was awarded to Timothy Martin, who clocked in a total time of 1:28:34.627. Closing out the Masters podium for Round 6 was Peter Rudd, with a total time of 1:33:45.874.

“I had a really good weekend down here at Kyogle. It’s basically a home track for me and I found that the tracks really suited me. Today’s WR 450F track was really great and the bike handled it well all day,” explained Hutton.

“I had surgery during the three-month break and have only been riding for the past two weeks, so this weekend was set to be challenging regardless of the outcome”

AORC Masters Round 6 Top 10 Provisional Results:

1. Kirk Hutton (Yamaha Motor Australia) 1:24:46.594
2. Timothy Martin 1:28:34.627
3. Peter Rudd 1:33:45.874
4. Craig Treasure 1:34:06.107
5. Ian McGillivray 1:35:31.132
6. Hank Wilkes 1:35:51.033
7. John Murray 1:36:03.486
8. David Pratten 1:36:58.615
9. Shane Dawson 1:39:32.458
10. Stephen Matheson 1:42:13.197

AORC returns on August 10^th for Round 7 of the 2019 Championship, in Broken Hill, NSW. Featuring a three-hour Cross Country racing format, this weekend is not to be missed! Submit your entry today at AORC.org.au!

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