News 20 Aug 2013

Off-Road Observations: 33

MotoOnline's weekly enduro and desert feature, presented by Yamaha's WR450F.

The Australian Off-Road Championship resumed last weekend at Wedderburn in Victoria, with Chris Hollis (Motorex KTM Off Road Racing) and Daniel Milner (CDR Yamaha) taking a win apiece Outright for the weekend.

Another impressive performance from Milner has him zeroing in on the Outright Championship win with just two rounds remaining.

Saturday’s event saw the Cross Country format in place, which had competitors race six laps of a single loop track with the loop taking just over 20 minutes for the elite pro level racers.

Milner led early, but it eventually Hollis who took charge and rode to the win in a a solid performance.

Daniel Milner is one step closer to the Outright AORC title.

Daniel Milner is one step closer to the Outright AORC title. Image: FourOhFour.

Round 10 and the riders needed to be fresh and fast for day two as the as the sprint format was in place. Milner was out to reclaim his place at the front of the field and immediately made his intentions clear.

He went on to win the round, 18 seconds clear of Hollis and secured a good points haul over the weekend edging him closer to the championship victory. Milner also extended his E1 lead aboard the YZ250F.

“It would have been nice to win both rounds on the weekend, but Chris was riding well on Saturday and I wasn’t able to bridge the gap late in the event,” Milner said. “But it did give me some motivation for today and I was able to get into a good pace right at the start and make it stick all the way to the finish.

“We still have two rounds to go and while my lead looks good on paper sometimes it doesn’t take much for all that to change. Our final rounds are in Dungog in a few weeks’ time so I will continue with my usual routine and ride each round on its merits just like I have all year.”

Hollis was in fine form throughout the weekend to extend his E2 class lead on the 450 EXC.

“Yesterday was good on a tough track that was real wet with fast sections and tight sections – a pretty good combination really,” Hollis said on Sunday. “I chipped away at Milner’s early lead and after half way I pulled past and away.

Hollis was back in the winner's circle on Saturday.

Hollis was back in the winner’s circle on Saturday. Image: FourOhFour.

“Today I was still pretty fast but I had a couple of crashes which threw a little spanner in the works, however I was still second Outright and I had a bit of time on the other guys. I feel really good, the bike was working good and I was feeling back where I need to be.”

The weekend was a nightmare for Active8 Yamaha’s Josh Green, who suffered from overheating problems on Saturday and then struggled to 11th on Sunday. With that, he slipped from third in the standings to fifth Outright behind Glenn Kearney (Husqvarna) and Stefan Merriman (CDR Yamaha).

“The weekend was a disaster for me and I’m just going to put it behind me and move on,” Green said. “Anything that could go wrong did, so my focus now on the final rounds which are close to where I live and I’m going to finish the season with a bang.”

The final two rounds of the 2013 AORC take place at Dungog, New South Wales, on 7-8 September.

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