Yamaha Motor Australia press release:

The Active8 Yamaha team of Josh Green and Beau Ralston are closing in on class championships after rounds nine and ten of the Australian Off Road Championship (AORC) were ran over the weekend in wet and trying conditions.

A huge down pour turned the picturesque Kyogle venue into a wet and sodden mud fest and made circulating difficult. Officials delayed the start and also changed to a simpler Sprint format to keep the weekend running smoothly.

Green had another dominant weekend on board his WR250F taking class wins on both Saturday and Sunday, although it wasn’t all smooth sailing. Green, always a chance of outright victory struggled with the slippery conditions throughout Saturday but still managed to take the win.

With some bike set up changes, Green returned to top form on Sunday and was back up front this time for Outright and class honours. He again took the win comfortably in the E1 class (250cc) but also finished a very respectable third outright on his screaming 250cc machine.

Green now needs just a handful of points at round 11 to secure the E1 class series win but he is determined to finish positively as he sits second outright and can’t afford to slacken off at the final rounds.

“Day one was a bit ordinary,” Green states. “It was hard work on a 250 as the mud was pretty thick and it was working so hard to just get through it. I also felt we were a bit off in the set up and after talking it over with AJ we changed a few things overnight and the bike worked much better on Sunday and it showed in the results.

“We have two rounds to go at Dungog and it would be really good to finish on a high note. I have won only one round Outright this year, so it would be nice to get another one there and locked down second in the championship,” Green ends.

The weekend started out roughly for team mate, Beau Ralston when a fuel pump issue slowed his progress on the very first lap. He struggled to make it back to the Parc Ferme when the team fixed the issue but not before a penalty was imposed.

To Ralston’s credit, it took it on the chin and focused on his riding. He finished Saturday well down the field in 27th place but he rebounded strongly on Sunday to take sixth outright and in E2 honours behind Chris Hollis.

Despite the rough round on Saturday, Ralston still leads the E2 class by 12 points over his nearest rivals which is a testament to his speed and consistency in 2015. He also sits sixth in the outright standings, just a handful of points outside the top five.

“Saturday wasn’t the best but you just have to deal with these things and get on with the job. Things don’t always go your way and you have to do your best to minimize the issue and keep your mind on the job. Sunday was much better and I was up inside the top four for most of the day, I just had one lap where I made a couple of mistakes and it dropped me back.

“The final round isn’t too far from where I live to I look forward to racing there and having the support of my friends and family. The Dungog venue is awesome and hopefully we get lucky with the weather and it’s a great final round to our national championship,” Ralston signs off.

August 15-16 is the date of the rounds 11 and 12 of AORC and the final weekend of the championship. Both the Active8 Yamalube Yamaha racers have plenty to ride for and will be looking to make every post a winner in the run home.

For a full list of results; www.mylaps.com or for more information on the AORC, www.ma.org.au.