Chris Hollis traded Outright round wins with teammate Toby Price in Bulahdelah.

The 2013 Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championship kicked off over the weekend at Bulahdelah in New South Wales where rounds one and two of the series got underway.

Motorex KTM Off Road Racing Team’s Chris Hollis and Toby Price split Outright round wins during the weekend, with CDR Yamaha’s Daniel Milner scoring the third place spot on both occasions.

The Motorex KTM duo of Hollis and Price also earned themselves dual round wins in the E2 and E3 classes respectively, an impressive season opening performance for the new-look team.

Price is happy with his season opening performance aboard his KTM 500EXC, pushing through jet lag after recently returning from the San Filipe 250 desert race in Mexico.

“It was a great way to start the season for the Motorex KTM team,” said Price. “I got a decent start on Saturday but then the jet lag set in half way through and I started to cramp a little bit and finished second behind my teammate Chris Hollis who was on fire and going really, really well.

“My team made a great effort to get the bikes ready for Sunday and we came out with a win, although that last sprint was really tight! With just six seconds lead going into the final if I would have had one slip up anywhere the day would have been done.

“The 500EXC is working awesome and I had to try hard to keep in front of Chris. It should be a good battle this year. The gap between us in that first sprint today was less than one second – that’s one bit of wheel spin up a hill and you lose!”

Hollis’ off-season testing and training paid off for him on the challenging track and demanding conditions in Bulahdelah.

“We had a challenging track to start on this weekend with a combination of roots, rocks, mud and technical sections, together with fast treed sections and water crossings – it was very mentally demanding with the hot conditions,” said Hollis. “I got out front early and was able to ride my own race and focus on keeping smooth.

“I got through the mud okay each time and did my own thing. It’s great to get that first win. I felt fast coming in but the other guys are always an unknown and you never know until that first round. But I backed myself and just tried to do my best and it all worked out pretty good.

“It was a good off-season and all the fitness and testing paid off. The bike was really good – just awesome up the hills and with the geometry and suspension settings I’ve chosen the handling is just spot-on.”

Behind Price in the E3 class Geoff Braico and Stefan Granquist traded positions on the podium. Braico was second during Saturday’s round one with Granquist in third, before Granquist turned the tables to take the runner-up position during round two relegating Braico to third.

Following E2 winner Hollis at round one was Josh Green and Jarrod Bewley. Green maintained his form during Sunday’s round two with another second place finish followed by CDR Yamaha’s Stefan Merriman in third.

E1 contender Milner was another dual winner at Bulahdelah, earning himself consecutive round one and two wins. Following Milner at round one was Tom McCormack and Ben Burrell.

During round two Glenn Kearney snuck his way into the top three with a second place finish behind Milner, while McCormack was relegated back to third place with Burrell dropping back to fourth.

The KTM duo of Price and Hollis head into round three tied for the Outright lead with Milner in third. Price leads the E3 standings over Granquist and Braico while Hollis holds the E2 standings lead over Green and Merriman. Milner leads the E1 championship chase ahead of McCormack and Burrell.

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