Ballard’s Yamaha Off-Road rider Chris Hollis claimed the 2011 Yamaha Australian Off Road Championship (AORC) crown over the weekend in Salisbury, NSW, after persistent rain saw the ninth round of the series become the ultimate series decider.

With continual downpours and deteriorating conditions forcing the cancellation of yesterday’s slated final round, Sunday’s Cross Country round unexpectedly became the last in the series.

Despite slippery and muddy conditions, hosts Dungog Motorcycle Club did a sterling job to ensure that the Expert and Junior classes were able to tackle the challenging cross country track circuit before the track was unavoidably closed.

The day belonged to Ballard’s Yamaha Off-Road rider Stefan Merriman, who brought home muddy but spectacular Outright and E1 line-honours with a time of two hours and 19 minutes.

Husqvarna claimed the second and third Outright podium positions for the day, with Bartosz Obluki and Glenn Kearney coming home second and third respectively.

Merriman took the E1 class ahead of Ballard’s Yamaha Off-Road rider Ben Burrell and Husqvarna’s Luka Bussa, while the E2 class was snared by Obluki, who took pole position ahead of teammate Glenn Kearney and Yamaha’s Hollis.

Matthew Phillips once again claimed the E3 class, making it back to the pit ahead of Motorex KTM’s Jarrod Bewley and Husaberg rider Geoff Braico.

After today’s results were added to the championship tally, Hollis became the clear 2011 Outright Champion with a dominating series total of 184 points. Second and third came down to a single deciding point, with Merriman (169) just squeezing out teammate Phillips (168).

The E2 class was also clinched by Hollis, while Merriman won E1 and Bewley won E2 for the overall championship.

2011 Yamaha Australian Off Road Championship
1. Chris Hollis 184
2. Stefan Merriman 169
3. Matt Phillips 168
4. Jarrod Bewley 154
5. Glenn Kearney 145
6. Bartosz Obluki 130
7. Daniel Milner 98
8. Ben Grabham 85
9. Toby Price 75
10. Luka Bussa 74