Yamaha Motor Australia press release:

Yamaha supported riders acquitted themselves well at rounds seven and eight of the Australian Off Road Championship, held at a very dry and dusty Renmark in South Australia.

No rain leading up to the event meant the conditions were extremely dry and the usual red, loamy soil in the area was reduced to a deep powder that created blinding dust and also meant riders needed to be aware of dirt being sucked into their motors.

Leading the Yamaha charge on the weekend was Scott Keegan (Snapfitness Yamaha) on his Yamaha YZ250FX. Competing in the E1 class (250cc), Keegan took a convincing class win on Saturday and then backed that up with a second place on Sunday.

“It was a good result for me on the weekend but it wasn’t easy for any of the riders as the dust and dry conditions made it really tough. The format was changed on the Saturday because of the dry and as a rider, you had to be aware of looking after your bike and not allowing dirt in the engine.

“All up, it was good to get back on top of the podium for a round win. I’m just a few points out of the class lead but we still have lots of racing to go and there are areas of my riding that I will continue to work on,” Keegan ends.

The E1 class proved a good one for Yamaha with the entire podium a blue trifecta from the weekend. Keegan and Active8 Yamaha’s Wil Ruprecht shared a round win and a second place each will Tom Jones put his YZ250 on the podium in third place for both days.

There was similar success in the E2 class with Riley Graham, Josh Green and Stefan Granquist in the top five on both days. Local South Australian pilot, Riley Graham rose to the occasion in his home state, taking an impressive third place finish outright on both days in an outstanding performance. In class, he took second on Saturday and a third on Sunday and the weekend helped him in the overall points standings.

“It was the kind of weekend I have been working towards for a long time,” said Graham. “My goal has always been to be a consistent top three guy and to finally be able to achieve it is pretty satisfying.

“To do it in my home state and with a few friends and family watching on makes it even better and now I just have to continue this form at the east coast rounds.”

Active8 Yamaha’s Josh Green posted consistent results all weekend, despite feeling under the weather and holds down second in both the Outright and class honours.

Slotting into the top five on the weekend was Stefan Granquist in a solid weekend for the veteran.

Michael Driscoll also posted some good results this weekend, highlighted with a noteworthy seven place outright on Saturday. The rookie Under 19 off road rider again showed he is a real talent of the future racking up some impressive special test times to take second place in class and enroute to his seventh place.

Sunday wasn’t quite as strong but still a good result, none the less. Driscoll took 12th outright and third in class and reflected positively on a good weekend at Renmark.

“While the rest of the off-road guys were doing Finke, I stayed at home and continued to work hard with my riding and training. I’m still learning a lot of things about off road but I’m really enjoying it and it’s even better when you can see it rewarded in the results.

“The points are pretty close in my class so I really need to keep working and have a strong finish to the year. Thanks to my family for all their support and for Yamaha who have helped me a lot,” Driscoll ends.

Jemma Wilson suffered her first defeat of the year in the Women’s class on Saturday to finish in third place for the round, but she instantly put that behind her to rebound and take victory on Sunday. She still comfortably leads the women’s division and is already looking forward to the coming rounds.

“It wasn’t a prefect weekend for me and I found the dry dirt really tough,” Wilson offers. “But at the same time, both Sophie and Tegan were riding well, so congratulations to them.”

Yamaha even did well on the 85cc class with Yamaha Junior Racing’s Taj Gow Smith taking a weekend off from his usual motocross events to tackle a round of the AORC. On his YZ85, the 13-year-old pulled a second-place finish on Sunday showing he has off road skills as well.

The next round of the AORC will at Kyogle on July 22-23. For more information on the AORC: www.ma.org.au or www.aorc.org.au

For a full list of results from the SA round: https://speedhive.mylaps.com/Events/1415336