Image: Foremost Media.

Newly-crowned Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championship (AORC) number one Josh Green has announced his retirement following a decorated career, set to go out on top after winning the E2 championship and being the highest outright point-scorer in 2023.

Green, 33, was able to claim an elusive first-career AORC outright title, in addition to defending the E2 class national championship with the ShopYamaha Off-Road Racing team before opting to hang up his helmet.

In addition to multiple Australian championships, victory at the Hattah Desert Race and success in the Australian Four Day Enduro (A4DE), Green also spent a stint in the Enduro World Championship and has featured in Team Australia’s line-up at the coveted International Six-Days Enduro (ISDE).

Following his winning 2023 season, Green expressed that the time is right to step away from competition full-time after competing at an immense level for nearly 15 years, but hasn’t ruled out the odd race or competitive appearance.

“I’m hanging the boots up, from professional racing full-time,” Green announced on The AusMoto Show. “I’ll always race and I’ll always ride bikes – I’ve still got a lot of coaching and a lot of knowledge that I want to help everyone with – and, for sure, I’m still going to rock up and do random races. It’s just in my blood to race people… As for everyday training, riding, racing, it’s not going to be my full-time job anymore.

“I just feel like the time is right. I am getting older, I’ve won the championship that I have wanted to win for a long time, and injuries hurt now, I don’t heal as quick. I’ve got a lot of life left to live in different avenues now, so as much as I still want to race and do things for fun, there are just different things in life that I want to achieve.”

Yamaha Motor Australia motorsport manager Scott Bishop added: “On behalf of Yamaha Motor Australia, we thank Josh for his contribution, not just to Yamaha, but to off-road racing in general and wish him all the best in life post-racing. Josh has been a leading example of hard work and dedication, with his success based on a work ethic that never wavered for over a decade.

“He showed loyalty and commitment and even in retirement, those qualities will continue as he inspires the next generation of racer. Josh has worked closely with the younger riders within Yamaha over the past couple of seasons and has been a real guiding light for riders like Kyron Bacon, Jett Yarnold, Cooper Sheidow and many more.

“It was Green’s unselfish attitude that helped guide Bacon to his 2022 A4DE championship, at the expense of his own result. It has been a privilege to follow his career up close and while Josh will be lost to racing, he won’t be to the sport, and we look forward to seeing him continue his passion for dirt bikes in the future.”