It’s been a long wait, but its finally safe to head back into the bush as the 2021 Australian Off Road Championship fires up this weekend with rounds one and two kicking off at Golden beach in Victoria.
After the shortened 2020 season and the postponement of the opening round of the championship at Nowra due to the floods, Yamaha Racing are back in full swing this weekend and eager to get things started in a positive fashion this weekend.
Yamaha will be out in full force with a huge presence in the paddock and a long list of championship contenders across a range of classes, headed up by the Shop Yamaha Off Road Racing Team of Josh Green and Luke Styke.
Styke and Green are long-time established professional riders and major players in both class and Outright results. Styke will again front up for the E1 championship on board his Yamaha 250cc machine and look to make it three AORC championships in a row. Green is 450cc mounted and more determined than ever to add another championship to his name in 2021.
The Yamaha bLU cRU Off Road support team will be bursting at the seams with a three rider out fit consisting of Michael Driscoll, Kyron Bacon and Blake Hollis. Driscoll will pilot a 450cc machine and proved in the shortened 2020 season that he is well suited to the bigger capacity bike and with more seat time since then, will be right in the thick of the action at each and every round.
Bacon proved a revelation as the young Tasmanian charger announced himself in the off road scene last year in impressive fashion. He finished third in the 250cc class and will be out for better in 2021. Hollis will be looking to take the next step in the U19 category as he narrowly missed the championship win last year.
Other Yamaha supported riders and teams include Jess Gardiner and Emilie Karlsson in the Women’s division with Gardiner a multi-time champion. Jeremy Carpentier will be back for another season while a range of juniors will fly the Yamaha flag in a variety of classes.
“It’s been a long time between events and as a whole, we are just excited to be going racing again,” explains Shop Yamaha Off Road Racing’s AJ Roberts. “I know the riders are desperate to get the national championship going and we are looking forward to this weekend’s event in Golden Beach.
“All the riders are fit and healthy, the bikes are in great shape and now its time to put it all to the test and see how things stack up.
“We also get to display our new team look and thank Shop Yamaha for coming on board this year and we welcome back our long list of loyal sponsors like Thor, Michelin, Yamalube and GYTR.”
Action starts this weekend at Golden Beach and the race trucks are already on route.