Words & Pics - Yamaha.
AORC Series Rounds 7 and 8 in Qld were not good for Yamaha’s Stefan Merriman, but he still holds the outright lead, with just the final 2 rounds to go!
After blitzing rounds 5 and 6 in South Australia, Merriman was stuck for an answer from his off the pace ride this weekend. “I just didn’t come to grips with the course, and Toby was the opposite and everything clicked just right for him. Sometimes it goes that way!” A 6th and 5th outright and 3rd both days in the E2 class has left Merriman with a 13 point lead in the E2 championship class, but just 5 points clear in the outright title chase ahead of Kawasaki’s Toby Price. Sitting just 4 points behind him is Ballards Wellard Yamaha’s other E2 class hard charger Jarrod Bewley. Jarrod pushed his WR450F into 2nd both days in the tough E2 battle and maintained his podium spot in the outright hunt with 158 points to Toby’s 164 and Merriman on 169.
In the Pro E1 class, Kirk Hutton came out flying, with consistently strong runs over both days for his best outright performance aboard his WR250F, with a 4th and 3rd outright, and 2nd and 1st in E1. He felt at home in the tough and dry conditions and was thrilled to gain some valuable points in the championship chase, saying “I’m still in the hunt “with now182 points to Kearney on 189.
Pro E3 class contender Josh Ballard pushed his WR480F into 8th and 7th after a ‘hard day at the office’. ‘’I’m not too sure what it was with the course, but I struggled a lot in the dry and dusty conditions and something just wasn’t gelling for me”
Josh now sits in equal 5th place on 117 points with Lloyd in 4th on 134.
Wellard support rider and E1 Expert hard charger Liam Robertson came back from a severe dose of the flu to push his WR250F into 8th and 5th for the weekend, but still maintains 3rd and is on the podium for the E1 championship on 98 series points.
Junior sensation Ben Burrell was back to his usual form with 2 flawless days of racing heading him towards another outright Junior title with 50 more points from 2 wins, and is heading both the junior lites and outright honors with 175 points.
Geoff Ballard again ‘did his thing’ on his WR450F in the Masters class with 2 more wins to make it 8 out of 8 for a maximum of 200 points.
The final 2 rounds of the AORC are just a month off in Young NSW and its certainly shaping up to be a battle for the outright title with Ballard’s Wellard Yamaha E2 big guns in 1st and 3rd overall. Stay Tuned!