Riders put to the ultimate test at Mount Misery
Hearts were broken and new legends were made at Mount Misery (Vic) for round four of the 2024 Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championship presented by MXstore (AORC).
Waubra’s dry conditions, mixed in with super technical tracks that weren’t gentle on body or mind, put the world-class racers to the test. After five Sprints, victories were clinched by Korey McMahon (GASGAS Australia, Motorex) in E1, Daniel Milner (KTM Australia, DM31 Racing Team) in E2, Riley McGillivray (Shepparton Motorcycles, KTM) in E3, Danielle McDonald (Yamaha JGR Ballard’s Off Road Team) in EW and Jett Yarnold (Yamaha Motor Australia, Yamalube) in EJ.
For all remaining AORC classes and their provisional results, please click here.
E1
There was unexpected turbulence in E1 as the current championship holder, Kyron Bacon (Shop Yamaha Off Road Racing Team), only finished sixth due to bike troubles, with McMahon taking maximum advantage.
After a challenging day across the WR450F track, McMahon defeated Tom Buxton (KTM Australia, DM31 Racing Team) and Will Price (Empire Motorsports Kawasaki Off Road Racing Team) for the glory. McMahon clocked off with a total time of 1:07:43.563.
“The conditions this weekend have been super tough,” explained McMahon.
“We’ve been doing 13-minute pretty much extreme tests with a little bit of grass tracks. It’s not easy but it’s definitely separated the men from the boys. People like Milner, Bacon and Reynders definitely showed us how to ride this stuff this weekend.
“I got pretty banged up yesterday and came into round four sore. It took me a bit of time to find my feet but we worked some things out and took our time. Consistency definitely pays off!
“Kyron had some dramas today and that’s just enduro racing. I don’t like to win like this but I’ll take any win I can get.”
Buxton rode into second place today, behind McMahon just shy of 20 seconds. He finished with a total time of 1:08:02.365.
Rounding out the E1 podium was Price, with a total time of 1:10:17.604.
2024 AORC Round 4 E1 Top 3 Provisional Results:
- Korey McMahon (GASGAS Australia, Motorex) 1:07:43.563
- Tom Buxton (KTM Australia, DM31 Racing Team) 1:08:02.365
- Will Price (Empire Motorsports Kawasaki Off Road Racing Team) 1:10:17.604
E2
It was an imperious clean sweep for Milner at Mount Misery! From start to finish, the KTM racer was utterly dominant as he took top step in E2 as well as the fastest overall time. After five sprints, Milner’s total time was1:03:52.269.
Behind Milner was Jonte Reynders (Motul Pirelli Sherco), who bounced back after a lacklustre outing on Saturday. Reynders comfortably claimed silver thanks to a total time of 1:05:10.309.
Yamaha’s Will Dennett was third. With a total time of 1:06:45.944, Dennett couldn’t quite crack silver but had no trouble defending his position from the rest of the field.
2024 AORC Round 4 E2 Top 3 Provisional Results:
- Daniel Milner (KTM Australia, DM31 Racing Team) 1:03:52.269
- Jonte Reynders (Motul Pirelli Sherco) 1:05:10.309
- Will Dennett (Shop Yamaha, Threesix Motorsports) 1:06:45.944
E3
In E3 it was another orange-coloured weekend of glory as McGillivray claimed another consecutive class win! The Victorian was once again totally comfortable on the WR450F track, regardless of the many twists and turns. After five Sprints, McGillivray claimed the top step with a total time of 1:07:58.699.
Husqvarna’s Stefan Granquist jumped up the leaderboard today to claim second place, thanks to a total time of 1:08:33.229. Granquist tangoed all day with Beta’s Jye Dickson, managing to successfully fend off the speedster by 16 seconds.
Dickson’s overall time was 1:08:49.304.
2024 AORC Round 4 E3 Top 3 Provisional Results:
- Riley McGillivray (Shepparton Motorcycles, KTM) 1:07:58.699
- Stefan Granquist (Husqvarna) 1:08:33.229
- Jye Dickson (Beta Racing Australia) 1:08:49.304
EW
It was McDonald’s day to shine! After battling it out with teammate Jess Gardiner (Yamaha JGR Ballard’s Off Road Team) all weekend long, McDonald managed to produce super-fast Sprints all day to claim first place. After five Sprints across the Offroad Advantage track, McDonald finished with a total time of 51:31.583.
“My day was good,” said McDonald.
“I managed to claim the win with a solid lead, whilst enjoying some great battles with Jess today and yesterday.
“The track conditions here in Victoria were tough with plenty of bulldust and rocky hail but I enjoyed the fast, grassy tracks.”
Gardiner was second, clocking off with a total time of 52:40.136. She was in fine form all day however she couldn’t quite beat the demon behind the handlebars that was McDonald.
Third place was again claimed by Emelie Karlsson. The Husqvarna rider comfortably protected her spot on the podium from the likes the Ebony Nielsen (Beta Motorcycles Australia) and Courtney Rubie (Wearlusty, GASGAS), finishing five Sprints with a total time of 55:18.428.
2024 AORC Round 4 EW Top 3 Provisional Results:
- Danielle McDonald (Yamaha JGR Ballard’s Off Road Team) 51:31.583
- Jessica Gardiner (Yamaha JGR Ballard’s Off Road Team) 52:40.136
- Emelie Karlsson (Cassons, Husqvarna) 55:18.428
EJ
There was even more action to witness over in EJ, as the field screamed across the WR450F test track. After five Sprints, Yarnold reclaimed his position at the top of the leaderboard thanks to a total time of 1:10:41.221. Clearly yesterday’s lesson was learnt as he climbed back up from third to first, beating day one victor, Kogan Lock (GASGAS).
“My day was good. We regrouped from yesterday and ended having a great day!” said Yarnold.
“The track was rough, rocky with some great loamy, grass tracks out back. The competition was tight the weekend between me, Kogan and Eli, it definitely made for some great racing.
“Now I’ll work on regrouping, getting stronger and preparing for Edenhope next month.”
Lock was second a total time of 1:12:54.931. While he couldn’t quite beat Yamaha’s Yarnold, the hard enduro rider was able to protect silver from Eli Tripcony (Husqvarna, Motorex).
Tripcony recorded a total time of 1:13:12.315.
2024 AORC Round 4 EJ Top 3 Provisional Results:
- Jett Yarnold (Yamaha Motor Australia, Yamalube) 1:10:41.221
- Kogan Lock (GASGAS) 1:12:54.931
- Eli Tripcony (Husqvarna, Motorex) 1:13:12.315
To access provisional results for all remaining classes, please click here.
Next, we head to Edenhope (Vic) for rounds five and six on May 18-19. For more information, news and updates on the AORC Championship, visit aorc.org.au.
