South Australians will again get to enjoy all the Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championship (AORC) action when the penultimate weekend of the series hits Kapunda this weekend on 7-8 August.

Dozens of local riders are expected to take advantage of the opportunity to compete in the national championship, which has been linked with rounds four and five of their state series.

The Yamaha AORC rounds, dubbed the Barossa Bar Banger, are being organised by Motorcycling Australia in conjunction with the Gawler Motorcycle Club.

Gawler Motorcycle Club’s David Ahola said the property located just south of Kapunda was looking “absolutely magnificent”.

“It’s pretty much a virgin property, so riders will be treated to fresh tracks,” Ahola said. “The property has very, very clay soil, so, fingers crossed we don’t get too much more rain, because it could be quite slippery.

“At the moment we’ve got beautiful, bright, blue skies, so hopefully it should be perfect. The property runs along the top of the Greenock Range, which forms part of the Barossa Valley.

“So, the tracks will be very undulating – we run down one side of the range and up the other side, it’s a technical track.

“It will have some areas of open country. Also has some rocky outcrops and a creek crossing, but it is very undulating and clay-based – completely different to how it was in Callington for the AORC last year.

“The Barossa Valley is a very strong motorcycle area and there’s a lot of interest in the event. Riders are interested in competing, but we should also get a fair few spectators because it’s the only time they get to see the Stefan Merrimans and Toby Prices.”

David’s son, Rhyce (who has just signed a deal to ride for Hart & Huntington, a company started by Freestyle MX pioneer, Carey Hart) will be one South Australian looking to trump the east coast riders in the race.

Ahola moved to the senior ranks this season after scoring a top-three junior ranking in the 2009 Yamaha AORC.

The Barossa Bar Banger will kick off with a cross-country race on Saturday for round nine.

Cross-country formats consist of a mass-start, 2.5-hour race for Pro and Expert, other classes race for less time.

Sunday will be a ‘sprint’, which sees competitors start one-at-a-time and complete one lap at a time, doing several heats in the day.

Gates at the Kapunda property (located six kilometres south of Kapunda on the Kapunda-Greenock Rd) will open to the public at 9:00am on 7-8 August. Admission is just $5.00/adult, children under 14 are FREE.

Motorex Toby Price currently leads the Yamaha Championship E2 Class and Outright.

The finale, the Boxing Roo Yamaha AORC, will be held at Queensland’s Cherrabah Resort on 4-5 September.