HQVA press release:

Husqvarna Enduro Racing Team’s Daniel Sanders has swept the E2 division at rounds three and four of the 2018 Australian Off-Road Championship (AORC) at Hedley, Victoria.

Sanders proved the dominant force in class once again on-board his Husqvarna FE 450, also topping day one outright and narrowly missing out on a repeat result at the conclusion of Sunday’s running.

While Sanders was unstoppable in E2, Husqvarna Endure Racing Team teammates Lachlan Stanford and Fraser Higlett also continued their consistent podium form in the E3 and E1 categories respectively.

Stanford recorded second on both days aboard the Husqvarna FE 501, climbing to second in the standings as a result, while E1 rookie Higlett rode his Husqvarna FE 250 to a pair of seconds, currently third in the championship.

The difficult, dry conditions made for a challenging two days of action, with the original plan to host a Cross Country round revised to feature an extended Super Sprint on Saturday and a regular Sprint on Sunday.

The AORC will resume with rounds five and six of the 11- round series to be contested at Dungog in New South Wales between 28-29 July.

Christian Horwood – Team manager, Husqvarna Endure Racing Team: “The conditions were brutal – dry, windy and dusty with a really rough track. It was great racing, but very tough and demanding on the riders and bikes as well. The Husqvarna Enduro Racing Team had another very solid result, with ‘Chucky’ winning both days in E2, plus both Fraser and Lachy second in their classes each day. It was an unbelievable battle outright between both of the Daniels – Sanders and Milner – after a lot of racing, so that was really good and it was an exciting weekend.”

Lachlan Stanford – Husqvarna FE 501: “The weekend went well for us. It was really dusty and dry, so it was unfortunate we couldn’t do the Cross Country after preparing for that, but the track was pretty technical and it made things interesting. It was good to get second on both days in class, even though I probably prefer hard-pack more, so now we can look forward to Dungog and hopefully get a bit closer round by round.”

Daniel Sanders – Husqvarna FE 450: “It was a good weekend for me and I was really happy with the Husqvarna FE 450, it handled really well and the team was good also. I put some good, solid times down and it was actually a really hard race physically, just pushing to the limit in brutal conditions. To win E2 both days was good for me and I was satisfied with that result, so combined with the outright win and how close it was today, it was another strong two rounds for us.”

Fraser Higlett – Husqvarna FE 250: “This weekend was a challenging one for me, but I am happy with the class results to finish second on both days. It wasn’t easy at all, so it was good to claw back some points in the championship and I couldn’t fault the Husqvarna FE 250. Every round in E1 I am learning more, I expect to be at the pointy-end of our class and will keep working hard to move forward in the mid-stages of the season.”