Image: Russell Colvin.

It was a faultless ride by KTM Enduro Racing Team rider Toby Price today at round five of the Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championship in Hedley, Victoria, when he claimed victory in the Outright and in the E2 ranks.

The former three-time AORC champion beat Active8 Yamalube Yamaha pilot Josh Green by 15.255s on what proved to be a very testing track, which took its toll on a few of the major contenders.

“Three hours today was pretty tough,” Price told MotoOnline.com.au. “The body is slowly starting to heal up after that round two mishap – I kind of feel almost back to normal. Yeah, three hours today has taken the toll on a fair few of us. It was hard work out there today that’s for sure!

“We got a win and we’re tied on points in the championship, which we are stoked about. It’s bummer but with Daniel [Milner] being out though.”

For Green, who loves the sandy conditions experienced in round five, this round marked one year on since he snared his breakthrough win at the same place in 2013. But a bad start after miss-kicking the kick starter proved costly. Throw in a bit of arm pump as well, which saw Green up against it.

However he pushed on to claw his way up to second position. While most riders where keen to get the race wrapped up, Green was wishing for two more laps as he was closing in on Price in the later part of the race.

“I was hoping for more laps,” said Green. “Another two laps would have been nice for me. I rode well, so I’m quite happy with this second place today. I like this track, I like the sandy tracks as I have grown up riding on sandy tracks – its one of my favourite tracks of the year.”

Rounding out the top three was Husqvarna’s Glenn Kearney, who sits on the same amount as points as Price Outright heading into tomorrow’s round.

“It was a solid day,” said Kearney. “It was a tough track to try and find a line. It seemed like the track never got a nice flow to it. I think I did underestimate the ‘big bike’ in these conditions. I thought it would be easy to get on top and get going which it would be – it sure does have the horsepower – but I didn’t have the fitness to ride it like that for three hours.”

Sole CDR Yamaha rider Chris Hollis finished in fourth, which was an improvement to the previous round in Queensland. Green’s teammate Stefan Granqvist was fifth with the first Victorian rider, Daniel ‘Chucky’ Sanders, in sixth. Peter Boyle and Geoff Braico both pulled out due to mechanical dramas.

The Women’s class was taken out by Balllard’s Motorex Off Road Team rider Jess Gardiner, who was quite simply unreal to watch. The young 21-year-old now has a hat-trick of round wins. Gardiner beat Tayla Jones, with Emelie Karlsson rounding out the top three. Jemma Wilson was fourth.

Other class winners included, Geoff Ballard in the Masters with David Flemming in second and Mike Shearer in third. Will Ruprecht was the victor in the J4 class, 12.204sec clear of Seth Muller. Ben Kearns won the J3 class, while Joshua Brierly was the winner in the J2 class.

2014 Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championship
Round five – Corner Inlet, VIC

Outright results:
1. Toby Price (E2)
2. Josh Green (E2)
3. Glenn Kearney (E3)
4. Chris Hollis (E2)
5. Stefan Granquist (E3)
6. Daniel Sanders (19U)
7. Lachlan Stanford (E2)
8. Beau Ralston (E2)
9. Tom McCormack (E1)
10. Scott Keegan (E1)