Image: John Hamilton (Mad Dog Images).

CDR Yamaha’s Chris Hollis broke the winning run of KTM Off-Road Racing Team’s Toby Price in round nine of the 2015 Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championship (AORC) at Kyogle on Saturday.

Hollis, who hadn’t claimed an Outright round win in exactly two years leading up to Saturday, ended Price’s five-round winning streak.

The win to Hollis came after Saturday’s Cross Country for the seniors was cancelled and instead replaced by Sprints due to rain overnight playing havoc with the planned tracks.

Hollis (also the E2 class winner) burst out of the blocks early to lead by over 13 seconds after three tests, before the series leader clawed his way back with the quickest time in three of the last four tests.

The win gives Hollis and the CDR Yamaha team a significant boost heading into the final rounds of the season, after enduring a campaign that has been less successful than they might have hoped up to this point.

Rounding out the top five was Price’s KTM Off-Road Racing Team teammates in Daniel Sanders and Tye Simmonds, followed by Husqvarna Off-Road Team’s Lachlan Stanford.

Active8 Yamaha’s Josh Green had a slightly disappointing day in the overall scheme of things (seventh Outright on Saturday) after entering the round in second place, but still did enough to take out the E1 class.

In the 19 & Under class, Bolton’s KTM rider Tom Mason made a successful return to the AORC series after missing the Aratula rounds last month with a broken collarbone.

Mason took out the round and now subsequently leads the class Outright, ahead of Lyndon Snodgrass (Kawasaki Junior KX Squad) and Wil Ruprecht (MX1 Australia Suzuki Off-Road Team).

In the other classes, the Women’s top three mirrored the results from the previous two rounds, with Yamaha Racing trio Tayla Jones, Jemma Wilson and Emelie Karlsson again making up the podium.

MX1 Australia Suzuki Off-Road Team’s Trent Lean secured his fourth round win for the year in the Masters’ class, while Yamaha Racing’s Kirk Hutton made it nine in a row in the Veterans.

In the juniors, Husqvarna rider Fraser Higlett (J4) and Kawasaki Junior KX Squad’s Mitchell Brierley (J2) again extended their lead in the outright standings with wins in their respective classes.

But the overall junior honours went to New South Wales rider Michael Driscoll, who stunned J3 class leader Josh Brierley to win the section by over 20 seconds.

The 10th round of the 2015 Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championship will take place in Kyogle on Sunday.

2015 Australian Off-Road Championship
Round nine – Kyogle, NSW

Outright results:
1. Chris Hollis (E2)
2. Toby Price (E3)
3. Daniel Sanders (E3)
4. Tye Simmonds (E2)
5. Lachlan Stanford (E2)
6. Glenn Kearney (E3)
7. Josh Green (E1)
8. Scott Keegan (E3)
9. Stefan Granquist (E3)
10. Geoff Braico (E2)