Image: John Pearson.

Broken Hill’s seventh round of the Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championship (AORC) proved to be a bittersweet encounter for the Active8 Yamalube Yamaha outfit, as the team experienced both triumph and tragedy in the all-new Cross Country format.

E1 contender Luke Styke dominated the division and ultimately landed himself third in the outright times, while EJ challenger Michael Driscoll collected a convincing victory in the category.

It was a contrasting weekend for E2 entrants Josh Green and Wil Ruprecht, who both suffered rare mechanical failures in the gruelling four-hour affair.

“What happened to Josh’s bike was something I had not seen in a long time,” team manager AJ Roberts explained. “It appears rocks, or some kind of debris, got caught between the chain and the front sprocket and caused damage to the engine cases.

“Wil had a rear wheel issue and while trying to fix the problem he received some outside assistance, which you can’t do at an AORC event and as a result was disqualified.

“It was a disappointing way to finish the weekend as all four guys were riding well and were in with a great chance of their best outright results of the year. But, that’s the way it goes, and we will go back, do our homework and learn whatever we can from what has happened this weekend and be better at the next round.”

Green and Ruprecht will seek redemption when the Australian Off-Road Championship returns to action at Kingston in South Australia for rounds eight and nine, scheduled for 22-23 September.