A dominant Daniel Sanders won rounds five and six of the 2019 Australian Off-Road Championship (AORC) with the Husqvarna Enduro Racing Team at Kyogle in New South Wales on 20-21 July. While Sanders was untouched in E3 and proved quickest of all outright, teammate Fraser Higlett put forward his best performance yet to score 1-3 finishes in E1.
Sanders and the Husqvarna FE 501 were astonishingly fast through the pair of Sprint format rounds, contested within technical trails and in prime track conditions.
With a total time of 1h30m23.120s on Saturday, Sanders was four minutes clear of fellow Husqvarna rider Beau Ralston in class and then, following 1h11m52.578s of competition on Sunday, he was again near four minutes ahead of Ralston. Meanwhile, riding the Husqvarna FE 250, Higlett stood atop the E1 podium on day one with a time of 1h33m02.315s, which was the third-fastest time of all categories outright. He was third in class on day two at 1h15m21.524s. After continuing his perfect run in E3, Sanders now has a 20-point lead in the championship standings, as Higlett has climbed the order to now sit third in the E1 points at the halfway mark of the season.
Round seven of the 2019 Australian Off-Road Championship (AORC) is scheduled for Broken Hill, New South Wales, on 11 August. Visit www.husqvarna-motorcycles.com/au for additional information on
Husqvarna Motorcycles Australia.
Christian Horwood – Team Manager, Husqvarna Enduro Racing Team:
“It was a fantastic weekend and a welcome return for the AORC series. I’m very proud of the whole team’s efforts in bringing home great results across both days, with ‘Chucky’ winning each round to keep his winning streak alive, plus Fraser winning E1 on Saturday and again finishing on the podium on Sunday. These types of weekends are really rewarding, so it’s a nice result for the Husqvarna Enduro Racing Team to achieve at a great event. Everything came together in what was a very important weekend for us as a team.”
Daniel Sanders – Husqvarna FE 501: “It was a good weekend to bounce back and win both days in class and outright with the Husqvarna Enduro Racing Team. We were strong from the start this weekend and I was pretty happy with my riding on the hard-pack surfaces – I was able to stay consistent and make sure I rode to my potential. The format over the weekend with back-to-back Sprints was unique and I think it was good, close to European style tracks and I feel as though my experience from 2017 over there helped. The Husqvarna FE 501 was flawless and I gelled really well with it in those conditions, so I’m really happy with the weekend.”
Fraser Higlett – Husqvarna FE 250: “The weekend was a positive one and I was really satisfied to be third quickest on Saturday and to win the E1 round. I managed to start off strong and went from there, minimising my mistakes and I had momentum on my side from that point on Saturday. I’ve taken a lot of positives out of Kyogle even though I did make a couple of mistakes on Sunday because the track was super-technical, but we were able to put in a really good performance on the Husqvarna FE 250.”
2019 Australian Off-Road Championship (AORC) – Kyogle, NSW Round 5 Results:
E3
- Daniel Sanders (Husqvarna)
- Beau Ralston (Husqvarna)
- Andrew Wilksch (Sherco)
- Jesse Lawton (Husqvarna)
- Matt Murry (Kawasaki)
E1
- Fraser Higlett (Husqvarna)
- Lyndon Snodgrass (KTM)
- Michael Driscoll (Yamaha)
- Luke Styke (Yamaha)
- Lachlan Allan (Kawasaki)
Round 6 Results:
E3
- Daniel Sanders (Husqvarna)
- Beau Ralston (Husqvarna)
- Andrew Wilksch (Sherco)
- Jesse Lawton (Husqvarna)
- Matt Murry (Kawasaki)
E1
- Luke Styke (Yamaha)
- Lyndon Snodgrass (KTM)
- Fraser Higlett (Husqvarna)
- Michael Driscoll (Yamaha)
- Lachlan Allan (Kawasaki)