Yamaha Motor Australia press release:

Beau Ralston capped off a remarkable AORC season for the Active8 Yamalube Yamaha team by winning the 2015 E2 (450cc) championship as the 12th and final round of the series wrapped up at Dungog.

Ralston carried 22 point lead into the final two rounds which appeared comfortable on paper but with 50 points still up for offer and two days racing remaining, he could hardly afford to take it easy over the final weekend’s racing.

Saturday saw Ralston put in a mature performance that saw him take second for the round and keep his breathing space from the chasing pack. The final round just required Ralston to stay on two wheels and finish inside the top seven to clinch the class championship and that’s exactly what he did.

Ralston bought his Yamaha YZ450F home in fourth and took the 2015 championship with a seven point margin back to fellow Yamaha racer, CDR Yamaha’s Chris Hollis, in a class 1-2 for Yamaha.

“I have never won a professional national championship before so this is awesome and a really cool achievement for myself and the team,” Ralston enthused. “The last thing any rider wants when in a championship chase is to have to win out have real pressure at the final round so thankfully I was able to put a good round together on Saturday and take some of the heat out of the battle and just enjoy the race on Sunday.

“It was pretty dusty out there over the weekend so I just used my head and listened to what the team were telling me to do. I can’t thank AJ and the Active8 Yamaha team enough as racing for them has changed my life and I really enjoy doing and competing in off road.

“The results both Josh and I had in this championship show just how hard everyone on this team works and also what great bikes Yamaha make. We have some great sponsors and hopefully this is a way of saying thanks for their continued support,” Ralston ends.

It certainly has been a sensational year for the Active8 Yamalube Yamaha team with two classes championships, Green in E1 and Ralston in E2, but you can also add Green taking a very impressive second Outright behind 2015 AORC champion, Toby Price, while Ralston slotted into sixth outright.

Green, mounted on a WR250F, was the only 250cc machine inside the top 10 contesting Outright honours and second to Price, who was on a 500cc machine, is a remarkable effort. He destroyed the opposition in the E1 class winning all 12 rounds on his way to a perfect season.

“Both Josh and Beau have done an amazing job for us this year,” states Active8 Yamaha’s AJ Roberts. “Both guys entered the season with goals of winning their classes at the AORC and have both have done that so congratulations to them.

“We have also had a great group of sponsors behind us and I also can’t thank Ray Howard and Yamaha Australia enough for their support of not only this team, but off road racing in general. Without them, our sport wouldn’t be as good as what it is.

“We plan on having a good time tonight but then it’s time to gear up for the ISDE where both riders are representing Australia in the six day event in Slovakia, with the team leaving later this month,” AJ ends.