Yamaha Motor Australia press release:

CDR Yamaha’s Chris Hollis returned to form with impressive performances at rounds seven and eight of the Australian Off Road Championship (AORC) held near Warwick, in Queensland.

Hollis, who has battled injury all season long, damaging shoulders, elbows and hands so far this season, finally made it to an AORC round 100 percent fit and ready to race and instantly his results reflected that.

Competing in the traditional Enduro format over both days, Hollis and Toby Price quickly separated themselves from the field and showed they were a cut above the rest. The pair traded special test wins on Saturday and it came down to just four seconds separating them after a full days racing, with Price taking the win and Hollis right in his shadow for Outright honours.

Round eight action got underway and instantly Hollis showed his Saturday’s performance was no fluke and was again neck and neck with Price as the pair again competed for stage victories. Price again took the win for the day, this time by five seconds, but there was one test that saw Hollis drop four seconds to Price which proved costly at the end of the day.

It was also a dominant class performance by Hollis, taking the victory both days in the E2 category on board his YZ450F and he has now jumped several places up the leader board Outright and in class.

“It was nice to finally get a round where I was fit and able to ride the way I want to ride and not just try and get by. It also felt good to be back near the front and competing for Outright wins,” Hollis explains. “I know Toby carried an injury into the event but it was pleasing that on both days we were able to build a gap over the field.

“The CDR Yamaha team have continued to support me throughout the year despite my injuries and hopefully now we can put them all behind us and finish the season off strongly and get this bike and team up where it belongs,” Hollis said determinedly. With four rounds still remaining, Hollis still has an opportunity to continue his march up the points chase. Rounds nine and ten take place at Kyogle in NSW on July 24/25.

“It’s been a tough season so far for CDR Yamaha off road this year with both riders carrying injuries and being forced to miss rounds so it was almost a relief that Chris was able to compete well over the weekend and get some decent results for us,” states team owner, Craig Dack.

“Second place isn’t where the team and Chris want to be but at least we are back in the game and heading in the right direction. It was the morale boosting weekend the team needed and hopefully see us finish the season out with some round wins,” Dack ends.

For more information on the AORC, www.ma.org.au and for full list of results, www.mylaps.com

To follow the CDR Yamaha team on social media, www.facebook.com/cdryamaha or @cdryamaha