Image: Fourohfour.

The new-look Husqvarna Enduro Racing Team has added two off-road titles to its maiden season as the Australian Off-Road Championships wound up at Heathcote in Victoria last weekend.

Just three weeks after the team won two Australian Four-Day Championships, team manager Glenn Kearney took his career-first AORC title when he powered his Husqvarna FE 501 to two more demonstrative victories in the E3 category, keeping alive a winning streak that began at round three.

In fact Kearney dropped just one class win from the 12 rounds, when he suffered his worst finish of the series – a second place at Bulahdelah. Kearney was also third in the AORC Outright standings, sharing the podium with Toby Price and Daniel Milner.

“Really stoked to get the win in the class and wrap the championship up yesterday,” Kearney said. “It’s actually my first AORC championship, because it didn’t exist when I went to America. But to have everything come together with managing the team, finishing on the Outright podium and winning the class is great.

“Together with Lachy [Stanford] riding so well all year, Scotty [Keegan] finishing second in E1 and Damo [Smith] obviously dominating the Vets, I think it was a really good first year for the team and I couldn’t be happier really as team manager.”

In the Vets class, Smith and his Husqvarna FE 350 completed an almost identical domination to that of Kearney, using a Saturday win to secure the 2014 championship, before taking only his second runner-up finish of the year in today’s final round.

Sunday’s ride was Smith’s last in AORC competition; the 39-year-old Central Coast rider and seven-time Australian champion has decided to scale back his activities for 2015.

“I was pretty happy to wrap up the title yesterday and take the pressure off a bit and then have a bit of fun today,” Smith said. “I got the guard of honour as I came through the last round today, which was pretty cool.

“Pretty much all the pro boys just made a big arch, then threw a bucket of water over me and threw me in the dam! It was one of the best things ever, like I had just won a world title or something. But it’s been great to get the Four-Day and the AORC title for Husky. We’ve had a terrific season.”

Of the other Husqvarna riders, Stanford finished seventh outright and fifth in the premier E2 class, while Keegan fought off the attentions of KTM’s Peter Boyle to maintain his second place in the E1 championship.