JGR Yamaha Lead Impressive bLU cRU Charge at Kingston AORC

The JGR Yamaha ladies led the way at rounds nine and ten of the Australian Off-Road Championship (AORC) with Jess Gardiner and rising star, Danielle McDonald, clean sweeping the weekend and leading a strong Yamaha performance.Kingston, in South Australia, hosted the second to last weekend of the 2022 Australian Off Road Championship and with national titles on the line, things are heating up and Yamaha riders are making their move.

To view the JGR Yamaha bLU cRU round review: https://youtu.be/Cm8-rl1OG7E

Jess Gardiner continued on her winning way in the Women’s division (EW) with another dominant performance over the weekend. Gardiner claimed victories on both days and stretched her lead out to a commanding 27 points with two rounds to come.

Gardiner, fresh back from the Australian Women’s team bronze medal performance at the International Six Day Enduro in France, kept the momentum rolling with another weekend of victories and to stay on track to win her seventh AORC crown. The weekend also saw Gardiner notch up her 100th podium appearance in the Australian Off-Road Championship. A remarkable statistic of performance and durability.

“The weekend was good for me and no real dramas. The wind and rain made things tricky over the weekend as well as the change in conditions from Saturday to Sunday. Sunday was a bit tougher with long, wet ruts and some mud but overall, the tests and the riding was good and another great weekend at AORC,” Gardiner said.

Danielle McDonald continues to grow as a rider and kept her winning ways intact at Kingston, taking the win on both days in the Junior Girls division. McDonald mixed it up this weekend and parked her usual YZ125 and pulled out a YZ250F but the result was still the same and she enjoyed riding the more powerful bike.

McDonald has won every round in the JG class in 2022 and sits 24 points ahead of her nearest rival with two rounds remaining.

“With the loamy dirt and faster tests, we thought this weekend would be a good time to get the 250F out and race it. I have ridden it a lot at home and on some motocross tracks, but this is the first time at the AORC, and I really liked it. The extra power is awesome and its such a stable bike to ride.”

Jeremy Carpentier made his return to racing after being side-lined for the last couple of rounds due to a wrist injury. With limited bike time, the goal for Carpentier was to get through the weekend safely and build on his pace and endurance as he returns to full fitness.

He was just outside the top five in class and top ten outright on both days in a consistent return to racing.

“Nothing real exciting from me other than to come through the weekend unscathed and get some seat time back on the back. I missed a couple of AORC rounds as well as Hattah, then I was with the Australian ISDE team, so my bike time has been limited lately, so I couldn’t expect too much.

“But glad to get that one done and be better prepared for the final weekend in Tasmania,” he said.

Yamaha riders also performed strongly in a range of junior classes over the weekend. Wil Dennett turned some heads with a breakout performance on the weekend finishing on the podium both days in the EJ (under 19) class and posting a very impressive sixth outright on Sunday. Dennett has been making improvements all season long and a result like this was only a matter of time.

Ollie Gear took home the double victory in the J3 division winning both days while brother Davey podiumed in the J4 class. Jett Yarnold was the man to beat in the J4 division and won both days, but he still trails Gear in the championship tally with two rounds to go.

And Harley Hutton get the Yamaha name at the front of the pack in the J1 class on his YZ85. Harley and his brother Drake are sons of former AORC champion, Kirk Hutton and both boys are tracking along nicely with Dad in tow showing them the ropes of off-road racing.