Riley McGillivray once again showcased his impressive skills by securing the top spot in the E3 class during the seventh and eighth rounds of the 2023 Australian Off-Road Championship (AORC) held in Keyneton, South Australia.
McGillivray also secured a well-deserved fourth-place overall finish in Saturday’s Cross Country race, trailing only 4 minutes and 14 seconds behind overall winner Andy Wilksch. Notably, McGillivray posted the second-fastest lap time of the day, mastering the challenging dusty conditions.
During the following day’s Sprint formats, the 19-year-old continued to shine in the demanding technical special tests, establishing a commanding lead on the leaderboard from the very beginning and maintaining his position throughout. McGillivray’s outstanding performance in all five tests propelled him to more than a minute ahead of his competitors in the E3 category and a commendable sixth place in the overall standings.
Reflecting on his achievements, Riley McGillivray shared, “It was a great weekend for me and I was more stoked to score my best-ever outright position than I was to win the E3 class both days, to be honest! Yesterday I started slow in the Cross Country race, but soon got into the flow of it and tried to keep it on two wheels. Conditions were pretty tough – dusty and rocky – but I really like the technical stuff. Conditions were similar on Sunday and it was a matter of finding new lines and being more creative to stay out of the dusty ruts and off the ground. I was consistently about 15 seconds faster each lap, so was able to build a good buffer. After such a huge break in the AORC calendar, it’s great to be back racing again and I’m looking forward to Kyogle in a few weeks’ time.”
McGillivray will be back in action for rounds nine and 10 of AORC 2023 will be held at Kyogle in New South Wales from 16-17 September.
