Upset Win For Thomas While Baker & Hall Take Out Consecutive Wins

There was some exciting movement in our EV class today, in Round 2 of the 2022 Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championship presented by MXstore (AORC)! After another day of Sprints, this time across the WR450F track, Christopher Thomas (Thomas Lee KTM) stole away glory from Lee Stephens (True Painting, KTM Newcastle). 

Remaining consistent though, even after another day of more than enough dirt and mud you could poke a stick at, John Baker took out a consecutive win in EM! The 2 Stroke Cup battled across the Ballards MXstore and Beta test tracks today, racking up seven laps for Round 2. The winner after a hard fought win, was Kane Hall.

EM (Masters)

We really shouldn’t be surprised by his fantastic form throughout today’s Sprints but Baker really brought the heat today. Over four laps of the WR450F test track, Baker set a cracking pace with a total time of 1:01:53.442. 

Rounding out the EM podium for Round 2 was Craig Rayner (Rayners Haulage Pty Ltd) and Ian Jenner, who crossed the finish line with times of 1:03:11.409 and 1:03:53.004 respectively. 

2022 AORC EM Top 5 Provisional Results:

1. John Baker 1:01:53.442
2. Craig Rayner (Rayners Haulage Pty Ltd) 1:03:11.409
3. Ian Jenner 1:03:53.004
4. Peter Rudd (Kessner Motorcycles, Husqvarna) 1:04:34.465
5. Kenneth Hicks 1:05:07.543

EV (Veterans)

After a fantastic result in Round 1, Stephens was knocked off his glorious perch by Thomas. With a total time of 57:45.880, Thomas pushed his 350EXC to the limit for first place. Just behind by nearly 13 seconds was Jason Dwyer, with a total time of 57:58.739.

Finishing Round 2 with a total time of 58:57.774, Stephens conceded third place.

2022 AORC EV Top 5 Provisional Results:

1. Christopher Thomas (Thomas Lee KTM) 57:45.880
2. Jason Dwyer 57:58.739
3. Lee Stephens (True Painting, KTM Newcastle) 58:57.774
4. Ian O’Brien (O’Brien Plumbing) 1:03:53.730
5. Brady Pascoe 1:03:57.190

2 Stroke Cup

Hall had a fantastic weekend here in Cherrabah, Queensland, raking in two consecutive class wins! With a total time of 1:25:55.866, Hall topped the 2 Stroke Cup leaderboard ahead of Geoffrey Braico, who claimed second with a time of 1:26:23.853.

Rounding out the podium is Brad Hardaker (Finance My Bike), with a total time of 1:27:15.724.

2022 AORC 2 Stroke Cup Top 4 Provisional Results:

1. Kane Hall 1:25:55.866
2. Geoffrey Braico 1:26:23.853
3. Brad Hardaker (Finance My Bike) 1:27:15.724
4. William Scott 1:46:06.744

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.