Motorex KTM Off-Road Team complete fairy tale weekend
The Motorex KTM Off-Road Team made it a perfect weekend with another 1-2-3 result in Round 6 of the 2015 Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championship (AORC) in Wanbi, South Australia on Sunday.
The podium for the sprint round finished in the exact same order as yesterday’s Round 5 cross country, with Toby Price taking out both the overall and E3 class win for the fifth time this season, ahead of teammates Tye Simmonds (E2 class winner) and Daniel Sanders.
The occupants of the fourth and fifth positions also didn’t alter from yesterday, with CDR Yamaha’s Chris Hollis and Active8 Yamaha’s Josh Green rounding out the top five.
In the Transmoto 19 & Under class, Lyndon Snodgrass rebounded from the disappointment of missing the podium in yesterday’s cross country to finish ahead of Round 5 winner Tom Mason and Peter Daniel Allen.
The Women’s top three mirrored the repeat results of the overall men’s standings, with Yamaha Racing’s Tayla Jones, ShercoAus Ballards Motorex Off-Road’s Jess Gardiner and Yamaha’s Emelie Karlsson all again saluting on the podium.
Trent Lean managed to turn the tables on Robert Day to claim a round win in the Masters’ class, while Kirk Hutton again blitzed the Veteran’s field.
In the juniors, Fraser Higlett (J4) and Mitchell Brierley (J2) both made it two from two for the weekend, while Joshua Brierley joined his twin brother as a round winner in Wanbi with a win in the J3 section.
The 2015 Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championship will now head to Aratula, Queensland for Rounds 7 and 8 on June 20-21.
AORC Round Six – Outright Top Ten
1st: Toby Price (Motorex KTM Off-Road Team, E3)
2nd: Tye Simmonds (Motorex KTM Off-Road Team, E2)
3rd: Daniel Sanders (Motorex KTM Off-Road Team, E3)
4th: Chris Hollis (CDR Yamaha, E2)
5th: Josh Green (Active8 Yamaha, E1)
6th: Beau Ralston (Active8 Yamaha, E2)
7th: Glenn Kearney (Husqvarna Enduro Team, E3)
8th: Stefan Granqvist (Yamaha Privateer, E2)
9th: Riley Graham (KTM Privateer, E1)
10th: Ivan Long (Motorex KTM Off-Road Team, E3)
Toby Price – KTM 500 EXC – “It was a good venue, out in the middle of nowhere, but the track conditions were awesome. I like riding in the sand and it definitely chopped up in the 2 1/2 hour cross-country. We’re at the halfway mark now in the AORC championship and everything is going good. I’m working hard on things, the boys are working good and the bikes are unreal, so it’s been a good weekend. I came away with the 1-1 but I made it pretty hard to myself on Saturday. I didn’t get off to the best of starts as per usual with the cross-country – really lagging with my starts at the moment – then one of the guys went down on the first turn and I kind of got hung up with him as well, so I came from almost last. My first two laps were pretty fast and solid, and over the 2 ½ hours I picked everyone off and got through the pack, maintained the gap, and got a win there. The Golden Tyres were hooking up really well this weekend, we had a good combination with them.”
Tye Simmonds – KTM 450 EXC – “Two seconds is a good result for the weekend so I’m pretty stoked. I can sort of live with coming second to Toby. For me it was a personal best so far this year and for the team it was unreal. It wasn’t all smooth running though; I broke the end of my nose yesterday. With about two laps to go I was coming down a really fast straight in fourth or fifth gear pinned when I got stuck behind a lapper and my vision wasn’t really good coming into the ruts. I got cross-rutted before this single at the end of the straight and tried to straighten it out but before I knew it, I was on my head. I didn’t even get time to put my hands out or anything, I sort of smashed myself and my 40-second lead over Chucky came down about 15 seconds. So I wrecked another helmet, but that’s the way it goes!”
Daniel ‘Chucky’ Sanders –(3rd Overall/E3 Class Runner-Up) – KTM 300 EXC – “Me and Tye were having some fun all day, battling. It was pretty close between us, came down to within a few seconds today and was pretty close yesterday too. It might have been closer but yesterday I came into get fuel one lap too early and the boys weren’t ready. So that put me back, I lost about 30 or 40 seconds that lap, then I stressed out and the pressure got to me and I crashed five times in the last three laps just trying to push. Tye fell a few times as well; we were going for it out there and it was really good fun. I reckon with a few more laps I would have got him! It was a fun weekend, and I couldn’t have asked for a better one I don’t think.”
Ivan Long – KTM 500 EXC – “10th yesterday and a big ninth today. I kind of just ploughed through the back a little bit today, and tried to just keep it up right. The last couple of tests I struggled a little bit, just making little mistakes and a couple of guys were getting closer, but, I just kept driving into it and slowly picked it up a little bit. I’m pretty stoked about it; it’s definitely a goal that I have wanted to achieve, finishing two days straight inside the top 10. The bike was good all weekend, and the KTM500EXC was perfect and conditions that’s for sure. The track got really brutal, and the body were starting to feel it a little bit today, but it wasn’t too bad in the end – I’m glad there’s a two-week break before Finke. That’s for sure.”
Ben Grabham, Motorex KTM Team Manager – “We work hard for this, but obviously it’s bloody awesome to get it! We pretty much had a perfect weekend; Tye had the odd little crash and stuff like that and we had a bit of a scare with Toby’s battery this morning when it stopped for us on the parade lap, but other than that it was a perfect weekend. It was a pretty tough track with really deep sand and pretty demanding an all that, but they just all showed they’ve been doing the hard work – all of us have been working hard to try and get the best result possible and we got the result that we wanted. Obviously it’s a great result before heading back to the desert the game. Longy had two solid runs, he was battling it out with Kearney and Stanford so he was going good considering it all.”
Chris Hollis (4th Overall/E2 Class Runner-Up) – “I was happy with the result this weekend in the deep sand. The KTM boys were very quick; I started to chase them down towards the end but I ran out of laps so I couldn’t get there.
“We’ve got no more sand rounds, which suits me because it is my weakest discipline, so I’m quite happy to be not that far off the front runners in these types of conditions.
“The next six rounds up north all suit me, and I know the speed is there, so I am looking forward to those rounds.”
Lyndon Snodgrass (Transmoto 19 & Under Class winner) – “It’s awesome to get back on top, and to get my first win of the year, I’m stoked.
“It was rough out there today; it was nice and sandy so I just had to find a smooth line and the result ended up not too bad.
“It was important to bounce back. I was shattered to have the lead by so much yesterday before I had to pull out, but these things happen.
“You have to keep on top of everything, so I’ll be keeping my training up and hopefully keep the momentum up for the next round.”
Fraser Higlett (J4 Class Winner) – “The track was so good. I love the deep sand and it was just the best track to ride on and it was best set up.
“I love riding in general, but the sand is definitely fun and I love the high-speed stuff too.
“I’ve won five of the six rounds so far and the competition (in the J4 class) is really tight, so we’ll just have to see if I can hold off Ben Kearns in the rounds coming up.”
Saturday Report – Toby Price leads Motorex KTM Off-Road Team domination
Defending champion Toby Price spearheaded a Motorex KTM Off-Road Racing Team clean sweep of the podium in Round 5 of the 2015 Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championship (AORC) at Wanbi, South Australia on Saturday.
Price, who also took out the E3 class win in the process, was the leader of a KTM assault on the upper end of the field that also included teammates Tye Simmonds (E2 Class winner) in second and Daniel Sanders in third.
Rounding out the top five was CDR Yamaha’s Chris Hollis, who rebounded strongly following his fall in the Round 3 cross country at Hedley, and Active8 Yamaha’s Josh Green who claimed his fifth consecutive E1 class victory for the season.
The battle of the KTM trio was the highlight of the day, with both Simmonds and Sanders taking turns in the lead in the early stages of the race, before the four-time AORC champ assumed the lead and never looked back.
Scott Keegan was the most notable casualty for the day when he suffered a suspected concussion in a crash on lap four.
The Husqvarna Privateer was up and communicating with officials soon after the accident and is still considered a chance to saddle up for Sunday’s sprint round.
In the other classes, Bolton’s KTM rider Tom Mason claimed his fourth Transmoto 19 & Under class victory for the season, finishing ahead of Jack Gaynor and Peter Daniel Allen.
In the Women’s class, Yamaha Racing’s Tayla Jones made it five from five for the year ahead of Jess Gardiner on her ShercoAus Ballards Motorex Off-Road entry. Yamaha’s Emelie Karlsson rounded out the girls’ podium in third.
Robert Day was the standout rider in the Masters’ class, while Kirk Hutton mirrored the efforts of Green and Jones to win his fifth AORC round on the trot for the season.
In the juniors, Fraser Higlett (J4) and Mitchell Brierley (J2) both recorded their fourth round victory out of five this season to extend their outright lead on top of their respective classes, while local South Australian rider Liam Mason took out the J3 section.
AORC Round Five – Outright Top Ten
1. Toby Price (Motorex KTM Off-Road Racing, E3 Class)
2. Tye Simmonds (KTM Off-Road Racing, E2 Class)
3. Daniel Sanders (Motorex KTM Off Road Racing, E3 Class)
4. Chris Hollis (CDR Yamaha, E2 Class)
5. Josh Green (Active8 Yamaha, E1 Class)
6. Beau Ralston (Active8 Yamaha, E2 Class)
7. Tom McCormack (CDR Yamaha, E1 Class)
8. Lachlan Stanford (Husqvarna Off-Road Team, E2 Class)
9. Glenn Kearney ((Husqvarna Off-Road Team, E3 Class)
10. Ivan Long (Motorex KTM Off-Road Racing, E3 Class)
Toby Price (1st Overall/E3 Class Winner) – “I never make a cross country easy for myself. It wasn’t too bad on the start, but then a couple of blokes went down and I was just caught up with all of them.
“Pretty much from the first turn I was pretty much last, so I really just had to come through the pack as quick as I could. I set some good times and got some good rhythm and pace, and from there I slowly made my way to the front. I then got past Chucky and Tye and then I pulled a gap and from there I just tried to stay smooth and consistent.
“1-2-3 for the KTM team is also an awesome bonus. It’s great to see Tye and Chucky up on the podium … our hard work is definitely paying off and we are making sure we are doing our best each weekend.”
Tye Simmonds (2nd Overall/E2 Class Winner) – “I tend to like the sand a fair bit, so I just went out there to have a good day and try and finish I guess.
“Chucky got the holeshot and then I passed him up the first straight and then led for about two laps I think.
“I felt pretty comfortable, but I got a little bit of arm pump as a result of thinking too much. But once Toby caught me I actually relaxed and got into a pretty good groove.
“I came behind a lapper and got sprayed by him coming into a really fast section off a single; I got way out of control and had a huge crash. I think I’ve broken the old nose again, but it’s all good. 1-2-3 for team KTM, it can’t get any better.”
Josh Green (5th Overall/E1 Class Winner) – “I got another class win; I’m not so happy about my outright position, but there’s not much I could do about that.
“I put in 100% and my bike was good, but it was just deep sand. We couldn’t go any faster than we did… hopefully that’s my worse round for the year.
“The rougher the better for me on the 250; in the real soft straights that are real fast the 450s and the 500s get away from me, but now that it is a bit rougher I can carry my speed more whereas they can’t pull away as quick, so the rougher the better.”
Kirk Hutton (Veteran’s Class Winner) – “It was good out there. I felt really good and really comfortable, and I didn’t get tired.
“We don’t ride much of this stuff up in Queensland, so to ride the sand is something different. I was a bit nervous about it coming in, but it was like riding on pillows almost, so I really enjoyed it.
“When I walked it (the track) on Friday I thought it was going to be a bit narrow, but it was actually a bit wide so you could actually use the track and get some good lines going, but it was still hard work that’s for sure.”
Mitchell Brierley (J2 Class Winner) – “Yeah, I was pretty happy with that. It was very deep sand for the little 85 with the little wheels, but apart from that everything went well.
“I was very happy to get the win again and take a bit of pressure off for the next couple of rounds in the overall championship.
“I hoping I can do well in the sprints again, but we’ll have to see how the track turns up.”
