After 12 rounds of action, the 2024 Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championship (AORC) wrapped up at Nowra on Sunday afternoon. While we saw a complete overhaul of class winners compared to last year, two of the main titles went to previous champions in Daniel Milner and Kyron Bacon, as new blood emerged in the form of Jye Dickson, Danielle McDonald and Jett Yarnold. MotoOnline determines the key takeaways from the series in this Top 10 feature.

Image: Foremost Media.

1. Milner equals AORC outright record:
This year saw one of the legends of Australian off-road racing back in the mix, as Daniel Milner returned home after two years of racing EnduroGP. As part of a KTM-backed program, the four-time AORC champion formed his own team – KTM DM31 Racing – and promptly jumped to the top of the outright time sheets from the opening two rounds at Roma. From that moment it looked like Milner would romp to the win, but a big crash at Kingston SE’s 10th round saw him dislocate his shoulder and DNF the race. Suddenly, his nearest E2 rival, Jonte Reynders, found himself within striking distance, especially as there was only a three-week turnaround between the South Australia rounds and the finals at Nowra. However, Milner wasn’t to be denied another championship, he took a tentative approach to Nowra, protected his shoulder and did enough to secure the title. In the process, the 34-year-old matched the all-time win record of Toby Price’s five AORC outright championships, while also racking up his 10th national title. It’s an incredible feat that has sealed him in the history books as one of Australia’s all-time great off-road racers.

3. Bacon reclaims E1 crown:
He was pushed all the way by GasGas-supported racer Korey McMahon, but ShopYamaha Offroad Racing’s Kyron Bacon has again taken the mantle of the country’s fastest E1 racer. The 2022 champion missed part of the 2023 series with a broken femur, which opened the door for his then-team-mate Cooper Sheidow to take a narrow championship win over McMahon. This year however, Bacon was back at the top of his game. He won 10 of the 12 rounds but also experienced his share of bad luck when he snapped a chain at Mt Misery, Victoria, and crashed early at one of the QMP rounds and had to scramble his way back to P2. Although Bacon ended up winning the title by 19 points, McMahon – whose pace and form has improved significantly over the past three years – kept him honest throughout the championship and was always ready to muscle into contention if the Tasmanian ever stumbled.

3. The EW baton has been passed:
After racking up an incredible 15 Australian titles, it looks like we’ve found an heir to Jess Gardiner’s throne, in the form of Danielle McDonald. The Yamaha JGR Ballard’s Off-Road Team duo battled at the front of the EW field for the entire championship, but 16-year-old McDonald regularly had the edge over her mentor Gardiner. In her first year stepping up from the JW division, it took McDonald just one round to find her feet, but she gained more confidence and pace as each weekend passed. The Parkes-based racer won her first frantic battle with Gardiner at Roma’s second round, and from round four onwards, she couldn’t be stopped. After an outstanding season, McDonald claimed the EW championship by 24 points over Gardiner, and for her efforts, she’s been awarded a Sport Australia Hall of Fame scholarship to help progress her 2025 campaign and provide high-level support and guidance.

Image: Foremost Media.

4. Dickson completes successful switch to AORC:
After a string of injuries, former motocross racer Jye Dickson decided to change things up and fronted his first AORC at Mendooran last year. He discovered that racing the clock suited him perfectly and he finished 2023 on the E2 championship podium. The Newcastle rider’s form attracted interest from Beta Australia, who signed him up to race the E3 class for 2024. After a slow start to the championship at Roma – finishing P5 both days – Dickson soon came to grips with the new machine, and from the time the series visited the deep sand at Edenhope, he consistently found himself at the top of the timesheets. From that point on, Dickson went on a tear, winning seven of the eight rounds and finishing runner-up at the one he didn’t win. Dickson has been one of the revelations this year.

5. Reynders continues to push for wins:
Motul Pirelli Sherco’s Jonte Reynders must wonder what he needs to do to win a championship. Since 2020 he’s finished runner-up every year in both the E3 and E2 classes, placing behind Daniel Sanders and Andrew Wilksch in E3, then Josh Green and now Daniel Milner in E2. As frustrating as it must be for the Tasmanian to always be second, it’s given him plenty of motivation, and he continues to get stronger and faster with each campaign. A great finish to the year with a double-round victory at Nowra saw him close the points’ gap on a tentative Milner to just 14 markers. That result will fill him with confidence heading into 2025, where he’ll be looking to finally land that elusive class and outright championship.

6. Newcomer Buxton’s consistency:
New Zealand’s Tom Buxton was a surprise, late entry to this year’s championship after it was announced he’d contest the E1 category with Milner’s KTM DM31 Racing Team. The 24-year-old had raced EnduroGP for an Italian Sherco team for two years, where he’d met Milner, and then the Australian legend took Buxton under his wing. Considering he was racing a whole new championship at unfamiliar venues against a paddock full of racers he didn’t know, Buxton was incredibly solid all year. After finding his feet with a P4 at Roma’s opening round, Buxton was a picture of consistency as he featured on the podium at all 11 remaining rounds, regardless of the racing format, with a P2 result at Mt Misery’s fourth round (when Bacon snapped his chain) being the highlight of his season.

7. New venues and revisited formats:
2024 saw a few shake-ups to the Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championship, with four new venues and the return of the cross-country format at Kingston SE for the first time in two years. While Roma hosted the opening round, the series also returned to Edenhope for the first time since 2019, and after five years of weather and pandemic-related setbacks, Nowra finally got its opportunity to host the final round. However, this year’s pick of the venues would have to be Mt Misery – the elevation changes, numerous off-cambers, technical rock gardens and fast, chopped-up sections attracted a huge turnout of more than 460 racers and tested everyone to the limit.

Image: Foremost Media.

8. Rookies impress:
It’s a good indication that the sport’s in a healthy spot with the youngsters who graduate to the senior classes finding themselves regularly fighting for class podiums. ShopYamaha signing Will Dennett and Simford Group Motorsport Husqvarna’s Billy Hargy both ticked those boxes this year, in the E2 and E3 classes respectively. 2023 EJ champ Dennett, who effectively filled the shoes of retired 2023 AORC champion Josh Green this year, quickly settled into the task with six consecutive third-place results. He then finished the season on a high note, with two runner-up results at Kingston SE and Nowra, on his way to third overall. As for Hargy, his results were a little more inconsistent across the championship, but his end result was the same – a third in the big-bore E3 class. The highlights and lowlights of the teenager’s campaign came just one round apart. After claiming a breakthrough round win at a brutal QMP round, he crashed hard at Kingston and DNFed, but rebounded well with a 2-2 result at Nowra, despite still feeling ginger from his big get-off.

9. Yarnold steps up for EJ crown:
With two of the main young contenders stepping up to the senior ranks, 2024 was the perfect time for Yamaha rider Jett Yarnold to put up his hand to master the EJ championship. The former J2 champion seized control of the class from the outset with a dominant 1-1 result in the opening two rounds at Roma, then did a great job of managing his points lead for the remainder of the championship. His main rival, Eli Tripcony (Husqvarna) stayed close and was able to snatch a round win at the death, but Yarnold’s speed in the rough stuff was enough for him to finish the season with a 20-point buffer.

10. Mid-season setbacks hurt McGillivray:
Having wrapped up the E3 championship in 2023, all eyes were on Riley McGillivray to see if he could go back-to-back and potentially fight for outright AORC honours this year. The KTM-backed 20-year-old started his championship in blistering form as he charged to four straight round wins in vastly different conditions at Roma and Mt Misery. Edenhope would prove to be his undoing though, as he crashed early in the opening test and injured his shoulder. McGillivray strapped it up and soldiered through the pain to salvage points at that round, but over the following rounds, he couldn’t find that same searing early-season pace he’d enjoyed, while Dickson enjoyed a surge in form at the same time. McGillivray had to settle for seconds and thirds for the rest of the series, finishing as the runner-up in the E3 class.