DIRT BIKE PROMOTIONS:

MSC Kawasaki’s Toby Price took his first Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championship (AORC) win of his career today at round seven held at Cherrabah Resort near Warwick, QLD.

The 22-year-old from Singleton (NSW) beat the rest of the field by 46-seconds. Current Outright point’s leader Stefan Merriman (Ballard’s Wellard Yamaha) finished the day in sixth Outright and third in Championship E2.

“It’s been a good weekend so far, so hopefully we can carry on with it tomorrow,” Price said.

“The bike’s working awesome and this year the whole team… they’ve done a great job and
it’s really good to be up on the top this time.”

Price hit a tree in his first lap of the day, ‘smashing up’ one of his fingers.

“My finger should be all good for tomorrow, I’ll just ice it up and try to get back up on the podium,” he said.

The only rider to give Price a run for his money today was Husqvarna’s Chris Hollis (from Port Macquarie, NSW) who won two of the seven heats and finished second Outright and first in Championship E1.

Hollis competed in Championship E2 on a 450cc machine for the first six rounds of the championship.

Switching to the 250cc bike for today’s event saw a return of the reigning AORC champ’s pack-leading speed.

“I had a lot better day than I’ve been having the last few rounds… the 250F’s an awesome bike,” Hollis said.

“It’s good to be straight up the front on it pretty much straight away and stay up the front on it, Toby and I were pretty close there for a while.

“I feel a lot more comfortable on this bike and my speed is back to normal, where it should be.”

Ballard’s Wellard Yamaha’s ‘King’ Kirk Hutton (from Kobble Creek, QLD) came second in the class and a commendable fourth Outright, two-seconds behind third-placed finisher and teammate, Jarrod Bewley.

The Championship E3 win for round seven went to the current leader in the class, KTM young-gun Geoff Braico.

“I’m really putting the effort in this year and trying to make sure that I’m consistent and fast,” Braico said.

“I’d like to be a bit further up the Outright, but that just comes with it all… I’m just tryin’ to get everything together and so far, so good, it’s all happening.”

Fifth Outright in today’s contest went to Motorex KTM’s Ben Kearney. Merriman, Husaberg racer Shannon Lewry, Peter Boyle (GHR Honda), Braico and Jehi Willis (Husqvarna) rounded out the top-10 Outright.

In the Expert ranks, Daniel Milner took the Expert Outright and E2/3 wins. Lachlan Stanford won Expert E1.

Yamaha rider Jemma Wilson was the fastest Championship Woman today, Geoff Ballard was the quickest Championship Master and Stuart Bennett was victorious in Championship Veteran’s.

Dylan Rose took Clubman Outright and E1, while Thomas Clark was the fastest Clubman E2/3.

Benjamin Burrell was back from injury and on top in Junior Outright and Junior Lites 15-years.

The remaining Junior winners were: Nic Tomlinson (Junior 1), Mitch Kellner (Junior 2) and Jordan Sargent (Junior 3).

For full results from today, championship point’s after today’s round, video interviews a video compilation and pics, go to www.dirtbikepromotions.com.au

Round eight of the AORC will be held at Cherrabah Resort (QLD) tomorrow (August 16th). Rounds nine and 10 will be held at Young (NSW) on September 12th and 13th.

The championships boasts classes for every level of rider, from Juniors older than nine-years to Clubman, Women, Veterans, Masters, Experts and championship-level racers.

The AORC are fantastic for spectators, with nail-biting action and the chance to get up close and personal with the stars of Australian enduro racing.

Gates at Cherrabah Resort will open at 8.30am tomorrow. The event will be run in ‘sprint format’ (several laps of the bush/motocross track racing against the clock).

Admission is $6.00/Adult and $2.00/Child. For a map to the venue please visit www.dirtbikepromotions.com.au. For more information on the venue please visit www.cherrabah.com.au.

Yamaha AORC Round Seven Top-10 Outright
1. Toby Price Class: E2 Bike: Kawasaki
2. Chris Hollis E1 Husqvarna
3. Jarrod Bewley E2 Yamaha
4. Kirk Hutton E1 Yamaha
5. Ben Kearney E1 KTM
6. Stefan Merriman E2 Yamaha
7. Shannon Lewry E2 Husaberg
8. Peter Boyle E2 Honda
9. Geoff Braico E3 KTM
10. Jehi Willis E3 Husqvarna

Yamaha AORC Top-10 Outright (after round seven)
1. Stefan Merriman Points: 153
2. Toby Price 139
3. Jarrod Bewley 136
4. AJ Roberts 117
5. Chris Hollis 112
6. Ben Grabham 102
7. Ben Kearney 101
8. Peter Boyle 92
9. Kirk Hutton 85
10. Geoff Braico 72