And that’s a wrap on Round 4 of the 2022 Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championship presented by MXstore (AORC), here in Mackay, Queensland. Our riders were thrown every challenge today, from rainfall to greasy tracks. Kyron Bacon (Shop Yamaha Offroad Racing Team)cooked the competition to take out his fourth E1 class win and the fastest time for the day. Jonte Reynders was hot on Bacon’s heels by just over a second, claiming the E3 win.

Our Seniors tackled two tests today, a familiar but super technical WR450F track, as well as the MXstore track where they averaged a high-speed five-minute turnaround. The Juniors took on the Offroad Advantage track for Round 4, where they were presented with five test laps that offered both tight, technical turns and high speeds.

E1
It’s safe to say that Bacon is comfortably at home as the E1 leader for 2022. With a total time of 51:13.540, the Yamaha boarded gun seemed totally at home on the slick and tricky test tracks. GasGas’s Korey McMahon jumped up the leader board today to claim second place, with a total time of 52:51.132.

Rounding out the E1 Round 4 podium was Cooper Sheidow (Kessner Motorcycles, KTM Australia), with a total time of 53:50.825. Bacon’s teammate Blake Hollis dropped to fourth place, with a total time of 54:05.265. Even Jeremy Carpentier (Yamaha JGR Ballard’s Off Road Team) struggled with today’s tough conditions, dropping down to 8^th place.

2022 AORC Round 4 E1 Top 5 Provisional Results:

1. Kyron Bacon (Shop Yamaha Offroad Racing Team) 51:13.540
2. Korey McMahon (GasGas Australia, Suttos Powersports) 52:51.132
3. Cooper Sheidow (Kessner Motorcycles, KTM Australia) 53:50.825
4. Blake Hollis (Shop Yamaha Offroad Racing Team) 54:05.265
5. Sam Pretscherer (Simford Motorsport, Gol Gol Hotel) 55:41.104

E2
Shop Yamaha Offroad Racing Team has had a very positive weekend here in Mackay, as Joshua Green and Michael Driscoll took out first and second place today in E2! Green took out the gold with a total time of 52:09.815, with Driscoll hot on his heels, taking out silver with a total time of 52:29.422.

Bronze was clinched by Husqvarna’s Todd Waters, who was mere seconds behind Driscoll with a total time of 52:35.233. Beta’s Higlett struggled today under the slippery conditions, settling for fourth place again.

2022 AORC Round 4 E2 Top 5 Provisional Results:

1. Joshua Green (Shop Yamaha Offroad Racing Team) 52:09.815
2. Michael Driscoll (Shop Yamaha Offroad Racing Team) 52:29.422
3. Todd Waters (Husqvarna Offroad Racing Team) 52:35.233
4. Fraser Higlett (Beta) 55:10.998
5. Caleb Ward (Portas Bikes and Power) 56:00.543

E3
E3 was where a lot of the action could be found today, as Andrew Wilksch (Simford Racing, Husqvarna), Jonte Reynders (Motul Pirelli Sherco Team) and Stefan Granquist (KTM Offroad Racing Team) tangoed for top spot. After some bad luck yesterday, Reynders came out with a point to prove and boy did he! Reynders claimed a well-deserved first place today, with an impressive time of 51:14.829.

Wilksch started off with some challenges but fought tooth and nail to score second place, finishing four laps with a total time of 52:06.651. Granquist comfortably claimed the third and final podium spot in E3, ahead of the competition by nearly five minutes, with a total time of 53:20.528.

“My day went really well,” explained Reynders.

“I finally stopped making mistakes and rode like I know I should, so I came out with the win in E3! I’m absolutely stoked with the result.

“The conditions out there and last night’s rain made it quite tricky. My 300 was comfortable out there but I basically went into cruise control because it so easy to make a mistake. In the end, I just worked to keep focused and avoid mistakes.”

2022 AORC Round 4 E3 Top 5 Provisional Results:

1. Jonte Reynders (Motul Pirelli Sherco Team) 51:14.829
2. Andrew Wilksch (Simford Racing, Husqvarna) 52:06.651
3. Stefan Granquist (KTM Offroad Racing Team) 53:20.528
4. Ashley Norman 58:18.084
5. Luke Bunnik (Sherco Australia, Limestone Coast Motorcycles) 58:28.520

EJ
Following in E3’s footsteps, the action continued in EJ throughout Round 4. After four laps across two tests though, it was William Dennett (Yamaha Australia) who scored first place! Marking Dennett’s first gold in EJ, his closed off Round 4 with a total time of 54:58.953.

True to form, Kobi Wolff was hot on Dennett’s heels all day, riding into second place with a total time of 55:21.854. The final spot in EJ today was won by Billy Hargy (Husqvarna Offroad Racing Team), with a total time of 55:23.749. With nearly two seconds separating him from second, it was clear as day that Hargy is back on track after an earlier injury.

Round 3 victor, Riley McGillivray (Shepparton Motorcycles, KTM) dropped down to fourth place today, demonstrating how challenging the conditions were for all riders BUT also how fierce the competition is in EJ!

“My day was good,” confirmed Dennett.

“I made up my time in the first three tests and keep consistent to get the result I wanted. The conditions were very slippery so you just had to take your time, stay centred. In the end we got through it!

“The competition is super fierce in EJ, we were all within roughly 10 seconds of each other at the end of the day.”

2022 AORC Round 4 EJ Top 5 Provisional Results:

1. William Dennett (Yamaha Australia) 54:58.953
2. Kobi Wolff 55:21.854
3. Billy Hargy (Husqvarna Offroad Racing Team) 55:23.749
4. Riley McGillivray (Shepparton Motorcycles, KTM) 55:27.041
5. Luke Chellas (Northbound Driver Training) 56:49.005