Milner continues AORC domination at Kingston

AORC 2018 – Kingston, SA – Rounds 8 & 9

Words and Images by John Pearson Media

With the AORC going to a new destination there was always going to be a bit of the unknown for the riders to deal with. The limestone coast of South Australia presented a different type of terrain with a mix of white, black and red sand as well as some healthy sized rocks and an abundance of tree roots all thrown into the mix.

With the competition working its way to a head this year the it was clear whoever could adapt the quickest would prove the victor.

As the AORC draws to a close everyone is watching with bated breath to see who will be crowned class winners for 2018. The competition at Kingston SE in South Australia proved to be just as exciting as some of the previous rounds.

The tracks were short in comparison to any others raced this year and this gave riders a chance to complete a higher number of laps than normal. It also meant the tracks would cut up quicker making for more difficult conditions towards the end of each days racing.

The terrain consisted of mainly deep, white or black sand, sections of harder packed red dirt or small rock outcrops with an abundance of trees, logs and tree roots.

Unfortunately for Yamaha mounted E2 class rider Riley Graham a tree root would cause a devastating blow to his state championship standings and end his weekend prematurely when he was thrown hard from his bike on Saturday. After continuing for a number of laps Graham was forced to retire in what is considered his home event.

The hotly contested Womens class was again another battle between Yamaha riders Jess Gardiner and Emelie Karlsson with Jess coming up trumps both days. Danielle Foot rounded out the top three.Jessica Gardiner

Jessica Gardiner

“Sand is my favourtie terrain to ride and for me it was all about staying upright and I managed to do that bar one test where I had one off. I had a lot of fun out there and when it got a bit rough I was lucky that my pro moto suspension handled it with ease.”

Michael Driscoll, riding with support from the Activ8 Yamaha team in EJ has continued his domination of the grade taking convincing wins over the weekend. Josh Brierley, Mason Semmens and Callum Norton rounded out the minor placings leaving Driscoll with a commanding lead in the championship.

Michael Driscoll

“It was definitely a technical track today and I was happy with how I rode and to take the class win again is great, big thanks to the team as it wasn’t the easiest weekend for us, as I had a few spills throughout but we got it sorted and took the win.”

The battle in E1 continued with Activ8 Yamaha’s Luke Styke proving the fastest 250cc rider on the track for Saturday. However he suffered a penalty on Sunday that saw him fall outside the placings after struggling with an obstacle.

Husqvarna Enduro Team rider Fraser Higlett took the honours on Sunday keeping the E1 title alive heading into the final two rounds at Omeo VIC in two weeks time. French import and all round good bloke Jeremy Carpentier managed a 3rd on Saturday followed by 2nd on Sunday and continues to build in speed.

Husqvarna’s Daniel Sanders once again showed why he is the man to beat in the E2 category, putting on a spectacle of fast paced and agile riding to man handle his FE450 around the techo Kingston track in impressive times that were similar to riders in the E3 class. In a determined display he never looked threatened. It’s clear to see his enjoyment at the end of the day shown in the toothy grin spread across his face and the light hearted manner that accompanies it.

Daniel Sanders

“The track was pretty rough today but I got off to a good start, but a few mistakes and crashes set me back from the times I was after today. All in all it was a good weekend for us and the team did really well to adapt to the conditions and help me achieve the win.”

Yamaha Activ8 rider Wil Ruprecht revisited the podium with a second at round 8. Team mate Josh Green was able to edge out the youngster in round 9 for second with KTM Offroad Enduro Team rider Lyndon Snodgrass showing why he’ll be a strong force in future years bagging a pair of 3rds for the weekend.

The E3 class has been a dominated all year by KTM Offroad Enduro rider Daniel Milner. This weekend was no different. He swept all before him in another clinical display of how to ride a big bike fast in tight, technical and ever changing terrain against stiff competition.

Once again this season he showed why he has made the top podium step his home despite the best efforts of riders like Husqvarna’s Lachlan Stanford, ISDE medallist Tom Mason or GasGas mounted Broc Grabham doing their best to ruffle his feathers. He took away the win on both days also managing to be the fastest rider on the course over the weekend.

Daniel Milner

“My first run today I pushed too hard into the corner and tucked the front end and lost a bit of time there. There was a log section that had us all struggling and I was definitely struggling with it but once I sussed out a line I managed to overcome the logs. The track was awesome it was rough, technical, hard and something we haven’t seen in AORC in a long time, credit to AORC for not taking it out and letting us battle through.”

With only two rounds remaining before the season is completed nothing is yet certain. All that we know is that this year has produced some of the most intense racing the AORC has seen for a long time across a number of grades. The showdown is set for Omeo VIC in two weeks where racing will take place at an entirely new venue with new challenges.

AORC Round 8 E1

1. Luke Styke (Active8 Yamaha Yamalube) 1:00:35.392
2. Fraser Higlett (Husqvarna Enduro Off-Road Team) 1:01:54.958
3. Jeremy Carpentier (Yamaha MX Store Ballards Off-Road Team) 1:03:42.378
4. Jack Simpson 1:05:18.374
5. Brad Hardaker 1:06:23.545

AORC Round 9 E1

1. Fraser Higlett (Husqvarna Enduro Off-Road Team) 58:30.922
2. Jeremy Carpentier (Yamaha MX Store Ballards Off-Road Team) 1:00:14.556
3. Jack Simpson 1:01:07.670
4. Luke Styke 1:02:14.246
5. Brad Hardaker 1:03:08.529

AORC Enduro 1 Standings

1. Luke Styke 215
2. Fraser Higlett 192
3. Jack SIMPSON 158
4. Jeremy Carpentier 156
5. Brad Hardaker 137
6. Peter-Daniel Allan 117
7. Baylee DAVIES 113
8. Tomas RAVENHORST 93
9. Neil Collard 89
10. Seton Broomhall 82

AORC Round 8 E2

1. Daniel Sanders (Husqvarna Enduro Off-Road Team) 59:00.645
2. Wil Ruprecht (Active8 Yamaha Yamalube) 1:00:16.082
3. Lyndon Snodgrass (KTM Enduro Off-Road Team) 1:00:55.865
4. Joshua Green (Active8 Yamaha Yamalube) 1:01:08.709
5. Beau Ralston (Actie8 Yamaha Yamalube) 1:02:49.186

AORC Round 9 E2

1. Daniel Sanders (Husqvarna Enduro Off-Road Team) 54:58.946
2. Joshua Green (Active8 Yamaha Yamalube) 55:54.471
3. Lyndon Snodgrass (KTM Enduro Off-Road Team) 56:46.015
4. Wil Ruprecht (Active8 Yamaha Yamalube) 58:23.192
5. Stefan Granquist 59:27.463

AORC Enduro 2 Standings

1. Daniel Sanders 225
2. Lyndon Snodgrass 186
3. Joshua Green 168
4. Stefan Granquist 149
5. Matt Murry 119
6. Riley GRAHAM 115
7. Nathan Trigg 78
8. Wil Ruprecht 76
9. Brent Dean 54
10. Luke Bunnik 42

AORC Round 8 E3

1. Daniel Milner (KTM Enduro Off-Road Team) 58:44.297
2. Lachlan Stanford (Husqvarna Enduro Off-Road Team) 1:02:25.285
3. Broc Grabham 1:03:29.791
4. Andrew Wilksch (Motul Pirelli Sherco Off-Road Team) 1:03:39.909
5. Jesse Lawton 1:04:43.551

AORC Round 9 E3

1. Daniel Milner (KTM Enduro Off-Road Team) 54:29.417
2. Lachlan Stanford (Husqvarna Enduro Off-Road Team) 58:46.646
3. Thomas Mason 1:00:05.087
4. Broc Grabham 1:00:20.564
5. Andrew Wilksch 1:00:32.740

AORC Enduro 3 Standings

1. Daniel Milner 225
2. Lachlan Stanford 189
3. Andrew Wilksch 149
4. Thomas Mason 146
5. Broc GRABHAM 146
6. Jesse LAWTON 84
7. Jamie ROBINS 83
8. Stuart HOLT 69
9. Kane HALL 68
10. Scott KEEGAN 40

AORC Round 8 EJ

1. Michael Drsicoll (bLU cRu Off-Road Team) 1:01:51.711
2. Joshua Brierley 1:04:09.735
3. Mason Semmens 1:04:19.286
4. Callum Norton 1:04:20.182
5. William Price 1:06:48:981

AORC Round 9 EJ

1. Michael Driscoll (bLU cRU Yamaha Off-Road Team) 57:24.799
2. Callum Norton 57:51.715
3. Joshua Brierley 1:01:12.612
4. Mason Semmens 1:01:30.827
5. Cooper Sheidow 1:03:33.958

AORC Enduro Junior Standings

1. Michael Driscoll 225
2. Joshua Brierley 190
3. Corey Hammond 152
4. Mitchell Brierley 139
5. Harrison Teed 136
6. Lachlan Allan 121
7. Riley Nancarrow 87
8. William PRICE 80
9. Mason Semmens 64
10. Cooper Sheidow 64

AORC Round 8 J2

1. Billy Hargy 54:35.910
2. Kobe Conley 55:34.719
3. Max Phillips 55:59.061
4. Taj Gow-Smith 56:04.003
5. Zac Perry 58.33.934

AORC Round 9 J2

1. Billy Hargy
2. Max Phillips
3. Taj Gow-Smith
4. Kobe Conley
5. Zac Perry

AORC Junior 2 Standings

1. Billy Hargy 196
2. Kobe Conley 175
3. Max Phillips 164
4. Zac Perry 148
5. Mackenzie JOHNSON 123
6. Taj Gow-Smith 114
7. Angus RIORDAN 100
8. Thomas VANCE 99
9. Jamie Dunstan 94
10. William Cooper 88

AORC Round 8 J3

1. Blake Hollis 50:17.344
2. Charlie Milton 51:24.198
3. Ned Chapman 52:47.980
4. Samuel Pretscherer 53:23.006
5. Zak Crafter 54:37.610

AORC Round 9 J3

1. Blake Hollis
2. Charlie Milton
3. Samuel Pretscherer
4. Ned Chapman
5. Zak Crafter

AORC Junior 3 Standings

1. Blake Hollis 203
2. Ned Chapman 175
3. Charlie Milton 151
4. Will RIORDAN 150
5. Sam Barton 130
6. Oscar Collins 119
7. Maxwell Liebeknecht 69
8. Benjamin TEED 66
9. Brandon CLARKE 62
10. Yolanda Treasure 56

AORC Round 8 J4

1. Korey McMahon 47:10.570
2. Korey Bacon 48:06.350
3. Matt Waters 50:33.400
4. Matthew Pye 50:38.270
5. Zane Plati 52:31.829

AORC Round 9 J4

1. Korey McMahon
2. Kyron Bacon
3. Matthew Pye
4. Matt Waters
5. Rory Hill

AORC Junior 4 Standings

1. Korey McMahon 216
2. Kyron BACON 183
3. Mathew Pye 170
4. Matt WATERS 121
5. Raife DOOLEY 114
6. Connor Albert 95
7. Max PRICE 86
8. Jayden RUDD 82
9. Benjamin Harris 80
10. Trent BREWSTER 74

AORC Round 8 Masters

1. Michael Widdison 57:48.365
2. Geoffrey Ballard 59:00.730
3. Craig Treasure 59:41.332
4. Michael Klein 1:05:35.760
5. Andrew Widdison 1:07:28.201

AORC Round 9 Masters

1. Geoffrey Ballard 1:16:48.660
2. Michael Widdison 1:16:51.665
3. Craig Treasure 1:19:01.029
4. Michael Kerin 1:23:45.308
5. Andrew Widdison 1:28:54.298

AORC Masters Standings

1. Geoffrey BALLARD 191
2. Craig Treasure 162
3. Michael Widdison 123
4. David SALT 86
5. Ian JENNER 78
6. David LOVE 53
7. Hamish GUY 50
8. John BAKER 47
9. Brett KENNY 44
10. Stephen Boucher 38

AORC Round 8 Veterans

1. Rowan Pumpa 52:14.564
2. Leigh Bentley 54:14.153
3. Richard Chibnall 54:24.474
4. Peter Rudd 54:59.944
5. Jade Gartlan 55:20.181

AORC Round 9 Veterans

1. Rowan Pumpa 1:09:30.703
2. Leigh Bentley 1:09:49.444
3. Richard Chibnall 1:12:52.379
4. Jade Gartlan 1:13:12.736
5. Peter Rudd 1:15:08.618

AORC Veterans Standings

1. Richard Chibnall 206
2. Jade GARTLAN 182
3. Peter Rudd 165
4. Paul CHADWICK 64
5. Hugh HOWARTH 60
6. Sean SMITH 54
7. Rowan Pumpa 50
8. Ben GRABHAM 50
9. Leigh Bentley 44
10. James BURGESS 38

AORC Round 8 Womens

1. Jessica Gardiner (Yamaha MX Store Ballards Off-Road Team) 55:08.902
2. Emelie Karlsson 57:28.481
3. Danielle Foot (Motul Pirelli Sherco Off-Road Team) 1:01:10.094
4. Hayley Gray 1:28:07.388

AORC Round 9 Womens

1. Jessica Gardiner (Yamaha MX Store Ballards Off-Road Team) 1:12:29.690
2. Emelie Karlsson 1:14:37.282
3. Danielle Foot (Motul Pirelli Sherco Off-Road Team) 1:17:08.257

AORC Womens Standings

1. Jessica Gardiner 211
2. Emelie Karlsson 191
3. Danielle Foot 159
4. Jemma WILSON 107
5. Sophie COLDICUTT 74
6. Holly CUNEO 62
7. Courtney RUBIE 38
8. Hayley Gray 36
9. Kellie Catanese 31
10. Tamara GRAY 30