Yamaha AORC, Rounds 1 & 2 Gympie QLD – What You Need to Know
The 2018 Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championship (AORC) season is set to kick-off tomorrow for Rounds 1 & 2 at Gympie, Queensland and it’s all ready for an epic start. Many riders have swapped classes for this year and the competitors that have put in the work over the off-season will reap the rewards. The format for this weekend will be sprints for both Saturday and Sunday.
The sprint format will be a fast and ferocious start to AORC proceedings with the rider’s racing against the clock, from test gates. The winner with the fastest elapsed combined time will be declared victor on each day. Up to 250 AORC competitors will take to the three test tracks over the weekend. Every corner will count towards the win this weekend and anything can happen!
The town of Gympie is located approximately two and a half hours from Brisbane. The local region has experienced significant rainfall in recent times but the weather is looking ideal for when the AORC competes this weekend.
It was a great experience at the Gympie Central Shopping Mall yesterday with Active8 Yamaha Yamalube Racing Team’s Josh Green and Luke Styke, Jemma Wilson (Yamaha), with local team Kawasaki Castrol Racing Team rider, Peter Daniel Allan taking place in a signing session. Many local attendees took part and collected a signature with several of the stars from the AORC Championship.
Last year the AORC visited a local school at every round and this trend will continue in 2018. The Yamaha AORC visited the Gympie State High School this morning to provide kids a look at several bikes with the riders on hand. The kids really enjoyed getting an up-close look at several of the machines. Husqvarna Enduro Racing Team’s Lachy Stanford and Fraser Higlett, Jemma Wilson (Yamaha) and Lachlan Allan (Kawasaki Castrol Racing Team) were there to provide tips and advice to the young kids.
2018 will see a wide variety of returning champions and newcomers. In a huge development, former A4DE and AORC Champion, Chris Hollis makes a return this weekend. Hollis will be one to look out for, as he pushes for victory for his class.
Daniel ‘Chucky’ Sanders, makes a triumphant return to the AORC competition with the Husqvarna Enduro Racing Team. He was crowned AORC champion in 2016 and will be aiming to take back the number one plate on his ‘Husky’ machine.
A newcomer to AORC is Frenchman, Jeremy Carpentier (Yamaha MXStore Ballard’s Off-Road Team) who hails from France. He will be gunning for the E1 class with his strong background in Enduro competition.
Motocross convert, Luke Styke joins the Active8 Yamalube Yamaha team for this season. Styke is energised and ready to take a crack at the title in the very competitive E1 class.
Jessica Gardiner (Yamaha MXStore Ballard’s Off-Road Team) has returned from international competition to take on the AORC and she’s as hungry as ever to fight for the championship. She will be running in the same team as Carpentier.
As always the first two rounds of the championship will be absolutely crucial to get vital points on the board and start of the year with a bang. Make sure to keep track of all the action at AORC.org.au!
Download the MYLAPS app to view live results
IOS: https://itunes.apple.com/…/app/mylaps-speedhive/id988412583…
Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details…
Stay up to date with all the happenings of the 2018 Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championship by visiting the brand new AORC website at www.aorc.org.au! or by following the AORC on Twitter and Facebook as well as @aorc on Instagram.
Photos courtesy of John Pearson Media
