Stanford, Milner, Simpson, Higlett reign supreme for Seniors at Yamaha AORC

The first day of the Miva Sprint Races got underway this morning, for Round 5 of the Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championship (AORC). The premier classes for Yamaha AORC are extremely competitive and E3, E2, E1 and EJ class contenders put it all on the line for victory. The pace and weather at Miva was hot, with the tracks being in peak condition when senior riders left the YZ450FX test gate. A number of riders managed to turn the tables on their rivals from Rawson to make the situation intriguing. 

E3 
Lachie Stanford of the Husqvarna Enduro Racing Team landed to first blow of the weekend for in class, with a total time of 1:18:02.179. It’s a great start to the weekend for the rider from Byron Bay as he looks to take out the round overall. Despite not getting into the flow straight away, Stanford noted that a setup change from the opening rounds allowed for strong pace in the last four tests. Lyndon Snodgrass of the KTM Enduro Team was his closest challenger and the two appear to be on course to battle for the rest of the year for E3 spoils. Snodgrass had a total sprint time of 1:18:25.829. Tom Mason showed what it takes to fight with the Championship’s elite by rounding up the top three in third position on his KTM. He finished with a total elapsed time of 1:20:49.488.

E2 
All eyes were on the highly competitive E2 class to see who would come out on top. Once again Daniel Milner of the KTM Enduro Team led from the front to take another victory. He was imperious in the sixth test with the fastest lap time of 9:23.960. Milner discussed his impressive performance;

“I’m feeling on top of my game at the moment. Today was a great day in which I won every test; although Greeny really put it to me in a couple of them. All that matters is coming out on top and hopefully we can repeat the result tomorrow. The track was unbelievably good today, its great to see the effort that has gone into the track, there is a very nice quarry section that’s technical, as well as rocky terrain and nice flowing clay surface.” Milner said.

The KTM rider has looked just as impressive as he did back at Rawson. Active8 Yamaha Yamalube Racing Team’s, Josh Green came in second place after Milner. Green is far and away Milner’s greatest challenger and it will be fascinating to see whether the Yamaha rider can up his pace a notch to take to claim the top step of the podium tomorrow. Green noted he was confident he could find the pace and make the adjustments to challenge Milner for victory tomorrow. Riley Graham from South Australia achieved another top three result with his time of 1:18:18.408.

E1
Last year’s E1 Champion and KTM rider, Jack Simpson achieved his objective of taking out the E1 class victory. Simpson was very impressive with his overall time of  1:17:38.732. Up next was Scott Keegan of the Snap Fitness Yamaha Team, he finished with his time of 1:19:39.670. After dominating Rawson, Wil Ruprecht of the Active8 Yamaha Yamalube Racing Team finished third after having a fall which comprised his overall lap time. Ruprecht finished with a time of 1:20:41.223.

Transmoto EJ 
Fraser Higlett would come to the fore for Under 19’s on his Husqvarna but it wouldn’t be without a hard fought battle with Michael Driscoll on his Yamaha. In the early tests, Higlett was showing excellent pace and looked to be pulling away. However Driscoll was strong in the later stages of the day and almost caught Husqvarna rider. It wouldn’t be enough to claim the first place. Higlett posted a total time of 1:18:42.069 with Driscoll a 1:18:44.980. In third place would be Jonte Reynders on his Yamaha, his total time would be 1:20:26.025.

Stay tuned tomorrow to see which riders come out on top overall for their classes with sprint races once again taking place.

E3 Provisional Results
1. Lachlan Stanford (Husqvarna Enduro Team)  – 1:18:02.179
2. Lyndon Snodgrass (KTM Enduro Team) – 1:18:25.829
3. Tom Mason – 1:20:49.488
4. Kane Hall – 1:21:37.491
5. Jesse Lawton – 1:24:11.495
6. Hayden Conroy – 1:27:17.936
7. Mackenzie Bowser – 1:27:47.724

E2 Provisional Results
1. Daniel Milner (KTM Enduro Team) – 1:16:30.614
2. Josh Green (Active8 Yamaha Yamalube Racing Team) – 1:17:04.746
3. Riley Graham – 1:18:18.408
4. Broc Grabham (Husqvarna Enduro Team)  – 1:18:53.649
5. Stefan Granquist – 1:20:52.883
6. Seth Muller – 1:23:32.793
7. Matt Murry – 1:24:02.912
8. Kaleb Treasure – 1:24:09.227
9. Daniel Collins– 1:26:39.099
10. Brodie Crane – 1:27:26.271

E1 Provisional Results
1. Jack Simpson – 1:17:38.732
2. Scott Keegan 1:19:39.670
3. Wil Ruprecht (Active8 Yamaha Yamalube Racing Team) – 1:20:41.223
4. Brad Hardaker – 1:22:17.962
5. Baylee Davies – 1:22:32.978
6. Justin Parker – 1:23:56.019
7. Kristian Sprenger – 1:24:17.951
8. Andrew Janke – 1:25:03.237
9. Simon Boyd – 1:27:15.018
10. Brady Pascoe – 1:29:58.957

Transmoto EJ Provisional Results
1. Fraser Higlett – 1:18:42.069
2. Michael Driscoll – 1:18:44.980
3. Jonte Reynders  – 1:20:26.025
4. Nic Tomlinson (DSR Motul/Perelli Sherco Off Road Racing Team) – 1:21:20.950
5. Dalton Johnson – 1:21:39.824
6. Lachlan Allan – 2:23:45.202
7. Seton Broomhall – 1:23:46.379
8. Ruben Chadwick – 1:24:44.692
9. Harry Teed – 1:24:44.692
10. Jacob Peacook – 1:25:28.463

Image courtesy of John Pearson Media: Daniel Milner at Miva

Don’t forget to check out the AORC’s new website at aorc.org.au.

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