Making its long-awaited return for 2024, the Yamaha WSB SA Off Road Championship absolutely lit up Black Hill, presented by the Velocette MCC. With exceptional amounts of work to return the Championship to its former glory, rounds 1 & 2 saw past and future off-road Champions come together to put on a standout show.
To view the full results for all classes, please click HERE.
Images thanks to Josh Reynolds.
Pro
Setting the tone for a down-to-the-line finish in the 2024 Championship, Riley Graham set the pace early on Saturday’s round 1 win with Max Midwinter providing some exceptionally close competition across the day as Max would take second and Chad Sparrow in third. However, Sunday wouldn’t be Riley’s day as he made the unfortunate mistake with fuel levels in heat 4, costing him the round despite putting down some top leaderboard times. Taking the opportunity with both hands and continuing his exceptionally consistent weekend, 2023’s Expert Champion Max Midwinter went on to take Sunday’s round 2 win and overall Championship lead, despite the late final heat charge of Chad Sparrow in second and Sean Throup in third.
Expert Open
Davey Gear made a remarkable impression in his debut year of racing, dominating the competition by securing victories in both rounds 1 and 2 with total times of 00:59:52.6 and 00:52:32.8 respectively. His stellar performance left his fellow racers, Oliver Pitchford and Aaron Dent, battling for second place. Oliver clinched second in round 1, only for Aaron to reverse the roles in round 2, setting the stage for an intense rivalry as they traded positions on the podium. This rivalry hints at an exciting year ahead, raising the question: can anyone dethrone Davey Gear’s championship reign?
Women
Emma Haylock surged ahead to take the early championship lead with a comfortable over 10-minute buffer, whilst Chloe Barton and Meg Pitchford were left to sort out the remainder of the podium places. Taking on everything the dusty Mallee course could throw at them, Chloe had the right moves to firmly maintain the second position across both rounds, and Meg walked away with the bronze.
E Masters
Putting those AORC skills to good use, Rowan Pumpa would set the bar exceptionally high to beat and take a clean sweep of wins across both days. Following in tow would see Shane Diener.
E Veterans
Veterans saw a shakeup with 4 taking to the course over a tight round 1, Peter Rossi, after assisting a rider on the track and receiving some time back, would go on to take out the top spot to start his Championship with a total time of 1:11:14.7. The times would tighten right up with Matt Curyer in second and followed by under 4 minutes, Matthew Boyle in Third. Continuing his charge into round 2, Peter Rossi would keep the top step finish after a battle with Matthew Boyle in second. Unfortunately, Matt Curyer & Michael Worthington would not take to the course for Sunday’s round 2 giving Peter and Matthew that crucial slight points buffer going into rounds 3 & 4.
C1
Rivalling the Junior classes for entry numbers, C1 kept SAORC fans guessing who could clinch the early lead. Ethan Alderson had a battle down to the wire with a round 1 finish time of 01:04:24.2, just over 14 seconds ahead of Reagan Mayes who finished at 1:04:38.3. Harry Guy settled for third place in round 1. Round 2 saw Ethan maintaining the Championship lead by just over 3 minutes ahead of Reagan; however, Harry Guy couldn’t replicate his third-place finish as he ended up in sixth, and Jye Martin secured his first Championship podium for 2024.
C2
Thomas Winter emerged as the front-runner in the 2024 C2 Championship, narrowly surpassing Mackyle Thompson in both rounds. Alexander Cowan claimed the third position in round 1, outperforming Jack Wormald. However, in round 2, Rhys Birthisel surpassed Alexander to secure the third spot on the podium, reshuffling the standings.
C3
With the level of racing prowess emerging from our juniors, their presence in serious competitions is sure to keep the pros on their toes. Will McInnes will make his senior racing debut in 2024 and has already made a strong start, securing the gold medals in rounds 1 & 2, ahead of Kye Porteous who claimed second place in both rounds. The battle for third place was intense. In round 1, Alexander Cowan took the podium, while in round 2, his absence from the course opened the opportunity for fellow senior newcomer Ryan Waldhuter to secure third place.
JJ
Cooper McCully, determined to improve on his 4th place finish in the 2023 JJ Championship, dominated rounds 1 and 2, securing the top spot honors. Reid Haydon, who finished third overall in the 2023 Championship, engaged in a thrilling battle with Max Donald. Haydon claimed the silver in round 1, but Max Donald turned the tables on Sunday, narrowly edging him out by under a minute to snatch the round 2 runner-up position.
J1
Joining the SA Off Road Championships for 2024, Ollie Paech wasted no time in making his mark, securing wins in both rounds 1 and 2 ahead of Rider Lambing over both days. Hudson Wilson clinched third place in round 1 after engaging in a back-and-forth battle with Austin Schultz through the heats. In round 2, Austin managed to secure third place after putting down some cracking times across the first 3 heats. Despite a late charge from Hudson in the last 2 heats, he couldn’t close the gap to take back third.
J2
Logan Stephens had a fantastic weekend, taking the wins in rounds 1 and 2 at Black Hill. This wouldn’t have been possible without some nail-biting challenges, including Levi Rossi right on his heels, trailing by just 17.8 seconds at the end of Round 1. Hot on Rossi’s heels, Blake Launer joined the weekend podium in third place.
J3
Continuing his championship run from 2023, Harry Gilbertson has his sights set on adding a J3 Championship to his trophy cupboard after last year’s near-flawless finish in J2. Jesse Bartsch secured second place in round 2, leading by just 45 seconds ahead of Xander Brown. However, not returning to the track for round 2 gave Harvey Gulin the chance to secure second place, with Lachlan Gardiner finishing in third.
J4
The podium standings over the two days felt like déjà vu, with Ollie Gear demonstrating his skill and securing the J4 class win ahead of Harry McDonald in second place, closely followed by Bjorn Cardenas in third. It certainly could be anyone’s game in 2024, given the level of competition coming from the overall J4 class. The seniors are going to need to keep on their toes in the coming years.
With the opening round finally wrapped up, sights turn to rounds 3 & 4 presented by the Green Triangle Enduro club as they bring the 2024 Yamaha WSB SAORC story to Kingston South East over the 24th & 25th of August 2024.
