Image: John Pearson.

Husqvarna Enduro Racing Team’s Daniel Sanders says the weekend’s seventh round of the Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championship (AORC) at Broken Hill in New South Wales was a case of survival.

With a newly introduced cross country format and challenging and dry conditions, the Victorian explained it was critical to get out front in the early stages to escape the damaging dust, however he believes his vigilant approach came at a cost in outright times.

Finishing second outright, 47.902s behind eventual victor Daniel Milner (KTM Enduro Racing Team) and over five minutes clear of third’s Luke Styke (Active8 Yamalube Yamaha), Sanders wrapped up his seventh-consecutive victory in the E2 category.

“It was a case of survival for me, working my way through the field and it was good to get away with that because of the dust,” the former champion commented.

“I pushed as safely as I could in those conditions, to get through to the front and that held me back, so I had to settle for second outright and salvage points with the E2 class win. Unfortunately it didn’t work out for me, but the Husqvarna Enduro Racing Team worked really well together this weekend and had some really good results.”

The number 11 holds a 29-point advantage in the E2 rankings as the Australian Off-Road Championship heads to Kingston in South Australia for rounds eight and nine, scheduled for 22-23 September.