It was a case of more of the same for defending champion Toby Price with yet another outright victory in Round 8 of 2015 Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championship (AORC) at Aratula on Sunday.
The Motorex KTM Off-Road Team rider (also the E3 class winner) held off another strong challenge from CDR Yamaha‰Ûªs Chris Hollis (E2 class winner), who for the second day in succession threatened to break the four-time AORC champion‰Ûªs extended winning run.
Active8 Yamaha‰Ûªs Beau Ralston rounded out the podium, while Daniel Sanders (Motorex KTM Off-Road Team) and Josh Green (Active8 Yamaha, E1 class winner) occupied the remaining positions in the top five.
The win tops off a remarkable month of racing for Price, in which he has gone through the last two AORC weekends undefeated (four outright wins) as well as claiming his fourth Finke Desert Race crown.
In the other classes, the Transmoto 19 and Under category has been turned on its head with just 15 points separating the top four riders in the overall standings.
Suzuki rider Wil Ruprecht claimed Round 8 to make it two wins from two for the weekend- finishing ahead of new class leader Lyndon Snodgrass (Kawasaki Privateer) and Alex Papmanolis (Yamaha Privateer).
The 22 points Snodgrass gained from Round 8 was enough to see him leapfrog into first place in the overall standings, courtesy of previous leader Tom Mason missing the weekend with a broken collarbone and Peter Daniel Allen‰Ûªs disqualification in this round due to leaving the designated track limits.
In the Women‰Ûªs, Sunday‰Ûªs result replicated that of Saturday‰Ûªs with Tayla Jones continuing on her merry way with yet another win. Jemma Wilson and Emelie Karlsson made it a Yamaha 1-2-3 in the class with a second and third place respectively.
Suzuki Privateer Trent Lean went one better than Saturday‰Ûªs result to win the Masters' class, while it was business as usual at the front of the field for Yamaha Racing‰Ûªs Kirk Hutton in the Veteran‰Ûªs class.
In the juniors, Fraser Higlett (Husqvarna) got the better of Ben Kearns (KTM) in their ongoing duel atop the J4 class, while Corey Hammond (KTM) broke Mitchell Brierley‰Ûªs (Kawasaki) five-round winning streak in the J2 category. Joshua Brierley (Kawasaki) again claimed the J3 class.
The 2015 Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championship will now head to Kyogle, New South Wales on July 25-26 for Rounds 9 and 10 of the series.
ROUND 8 OUTRIGHT TOP 10
1st: Toby Price (Motorex KTM Off-Road Racing, E3)
2nd: Chris Hollis (CDR Yamaha, E2)
3rd: Beau Ralston (Active8 Yamaha, E2)
4th: Daniel Sanders (Motorex KTM Off-Road Racing, E3)
5th: Josh Green (Active8 Yamaha, E1)
6th: Tye Simmonds (Motorex KTM Off-Road Racing, E2)
7th: Lachlan Stanford (Husqvarna Off-Road Racing, E2)
8th: Broc Grabham (Motul Pirelli Sherco Enduro Team, E2)
9th: Glenn Kearney (Husqvarna Off-Road Racing, E3)
10th: Scott Keegan (Husqvarna Privateer, E2)
Top Ten Outright After 8 Of 12 Rounds:
1. Toby Price - 193 Pts
2. Josh Green - 151 Pts
3. Daniel Sanders - 140 Pts
4. Beau Ralston - 136 Pts
5. Tye Simmonds - 123 Pts
6. Chris Hollis - 118 Pts
7. Glenn Kearney - 112 Pts
8. Lachlan Stanford - 101 Pts
9. Stefan Granqvist - 72 Pts
10. Geoff Braico - 69 Pts
For full round and championship results
CLICK HERE
Top Image: Toby Price know holds a 42 point lead in the outright championship with just four rounds remaining
Credit: Aaryn Minerds (File)
