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.

The flag is all set to drop this weekend for the opening rounds of the 2024 Yamaha WSB SA Off-Road Championship, presented by Velocette MCC at Black Hill. With huge amounts of work going on behind the scenes and anticipation building, sights are set firmly on the continued resurgence of the Championship series back to its former strengths.

Competitors:

With a whole range of interstate championship hopefuls joining our homegrown talent, the level of competition is going to go through the roof. Riley Graham will be putting it all on the line to get the early points lead in the Pro Class; however, he will be up against Sean Throup and the 2023 Expert Championship style of Max Midwinter, so the early lead is still up for grabs.

Making his senior racing debut, Davey Gear will be joining the stacked field of experts to rub shoulders with the returning talents of Tristan Throup & Oliver Pitchford. Plus, old rivalries will be reignited as Chloe Barton joins Emma Haylock and Meg Pitchford in the senior women’s category. Not to mention plenty of action across both Veterans and Masters, with some of the big names making the trip including 2023 Veterans Champion and AORC regular Rowan Pumpa (making his 2024 impact in Masters) & SAORC regular Shane Diener.

Joining all the seniors this weekend is a full lineup of junior next generation off road racing champions, with a great throwdown expected as a list of Victorian and NSW racers make the journey over to line up against our SA team. Of course, with plenty of returning 2023 SA Champions including Jackson Rossi, Harry Gilbertson & Charlize Waldhuter, joining the up-and-coming stylings of Tao Letton & Bailey Irrgang, it could be anyones race. Only one thing is certain this weekend…you’re not going to want to miss a second of all the Championship opening action.

Where:

Black Hill will host the opening test for the 2024 SA Off Road Championship competitors, featuring plenty of soft, loamy sand and mallee scrub to keep riders on their toes. The course is located just 30 minutes from Mannum, making it a perfect getaway for SAORC fans, both young and old, to witness our best riders put through their paces against an idyllic backdrop.

The entrance to the venue is on Schwertie Road, off Murraylands Road (The turn-off is posted as Rochow Rd). It will be signposted from Murraylands Road. Entrance to the property is approximately 800m on the right.

Program Timetable:

This Weekends Course:

The Velocette MCC has arranged an impressive event to greet our Round 1 & 2 competitors. With a fast-paced sprint format over both rounds testing riders in deep mallee sand, early championship points are set to be well earned with the below lap lengths –

• Nutrient Ag Junior Test – JJ & J1 (4km)
• Nutrient Ag Junior Test – J2 – 4 (6km)
• WSB Senior Test (6km)

Catering:

Keeping riders and fans fed will be both De Cafe Mobile Barista and Sword B Ox with a great range of hot food plus a range of drinks.

Important Info:

Dogs and Footwear: Unfortunantly, animals except for human aid dogs and push bikes are NOT permitted at the event. To ensure everyone is safe there is NO open footwear permitted.

Timing & Results:

Be the first to keep up to date with all the results by going to the SA Off Road Championships website or check out one of the TV screens at the track.

To access live timing…

• Head over to saoffroadchampionships.com and follow the “LIVE TIMING” links.
• Live timing viewing will be available on screen at the track.

Final results published on the SA Off Road Championship website.
For Supp Regs, Rule Book, latest news & more, please visit saoffroadchampionships.com or motorcyclingsa.org.au

Socials*

You can also follow all of the off road action on our social media by following the SA Off Road Championships on Facebook, Instagram or here on the SAORC website.

Final Riders Information for Rounds 1 & 2, Black Hill is now available HERE

Also please don’t forget to complete your Self Scrutineering Form

Riders Briefing Notes: HERE

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