Webmaster posted on March 03, 2010 12:20
Dozens of local riders will be among the hundreds from across Australasia who will line-up for the Port Mac Piston: the opening rounds of the 2010 Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championship (AORC) being held at Port Macquarie, NSW, on March 13th and 14th.
Reigning AORC champion, Toby Price
Competition will be fierce at the hotly anticipated event, with last year’s winner, Motorex KTM’s Toby Price (from Singleton, NSW), set to go head-to-head with runner-up, five-time world champ, Stefan Merriman (Ballard’s Wellard Yamaha).
The race is being organised by Motorcycling Australia in conjunction with the Hasting’s Valley Motorcycle Club.
Club president Tony Brown, who’s sons Tyler and Aden will be racing, said riders would be in for a treat with heaps of new trail being cut in and “a lot of effort” going into the track and venue set-up.
“There’s a real buzz about the event already in Port and the surrounding areas,” Mr Brown said.
“We’re expecting a good number of riders, including about 20 to 30 locals, they’d be mad not to race - the tracks are gonna be real good.
“The opening rounds of the AORC have been held at our track for several years and it’s always been a great event for the local area as it brings in a lot of dollars and a great opportunity for local people to come out and enjoy this sport.
“We should get a good number of spectators, too. We’ve been advertising it a lot, MA provided us with posters that we have put up all over town so everyone’s getting to know about it.”
Mr Brown said months of preparation had been put into the tracks. He said they had already started double bunting and setting up ‘interesting’ parts of the circuit for spectators, including a ‘corkscrew’ in the middle of the grass track.
“The two tracks will again include parts of the bush and the motocross track, and we’ve made sure to make new track so riders won’t be on the same old stuff,” he said.
Last year’s Yamaha AORC rounds one and two Outright winner, Stefan Merriman, said he expected competition to be even tougher this year than it was in 2009.
“The young guys coming up are getting faster and there’s a lot of talent in the field,” Merriman said.
“I’m feeling confident about this season, I’m very determined to win this year, but it is going to be tough.”
Toby Price, who will be defending the AORC title he won last year in his rookie season, said there was a bit more pressure on him to stay at the pointy end of the field in 2010.
“It’s all looking good. I’m fit and healthy and hopefully I’ll stay injury free before next weekend,” Price said.
“It’s gonna be tough this year... I’m just gonna try and do what I did last year, come in and have fun - as long as you’re having fun you’re going to do good.”
The AORC are fantastic for spectators, with nail-biting action and the chance to get up close and personal with the stars of Australian enduro racing. Gates at the Hastings Valley Motorcycle Raceway will open to the public at 9.00am March 13th and 14th. Admission is just $5.00/adult, children under 14 are FREE.
Don’t miss the GP Industries Autograph Session on Saturday afternoon following the cross-country event. A limited number of event t-shirts are also available for purchase, get your order in now by visiting www.aorcracing.com.au
The Yamaha AORC includes the following Australian Championship classes: GP Industries E1, Yamaha E2, Pirelli E3, RK Chains Veteran’s, Master’s, Motul Women’s and Junior Class 1,2,3,4 & 5 (see supp reg’s for more info), as well as the following support classes: Polisport Expert E1, Endura Expert E2/E3, Clubman E1, Clubman E2/3 and Clubman Veteran’s.
Get your entry in now for the Yamaha AORC Port Mac Piston: supplementary regulations are available from www.aorcracing.com.au
The 2010 Yamaha AORC is a 12-round championship held over six weekends. The opening round at Port Macquarie will be ran in a cross-country format (class mass start, most championship classes race for 2.5-hours flat out). Round two will be ran in sprint format (several laps of the bush/motocross track racing against the clock).
The next stop for the championship will be the Green Park Yamaha AORC on May 1st and 2nd at Conondale (QLD). Then there will be the Titan Enduro May 29th and 30th at Moruya (NSW South Coast), the Gold Rush on July 10th and 11th at Wedderburn (VIC), the Barossa Bar Banger on August 7th and 8th at Kapunda (Barossa Valley, SA) and the finale, the Boxing Roo Yamaha AORC, September 4th and 5th at (location TBA) NSW.
For more info or to get involved in the 2010 Yamaha AORC, please contact Denise Hore at denise.hore@bigpond.com.
MA would like to thank the sponsors of the 2010 Yamaha AORC: YAMAHA, MOTUL, PIRELLI, RK CHAINS, ENDURA, POLISPORT, ADB MAGAZINE, BALLARD’S OFF-ROAD and GP INDUSTRIES.