AORC: Green and Price share wins

Rounds three and four of the 2015 Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championship were held in Hedley (Vic) on April 18-19, with Josh Green and Toby Price claiming the overall wins.

On Saturday, Josh Green (Yamaha) completed the gruelling cross-country circuit in a time of three hours, 22 minutes and 14 seconds (3.22:14), holding off strong challenges from KTM's Daniel Sanders (3.24:43) and Beau Ralston (Yamaha, 3.25:40).

All three had their moments, with Sanders leading in the early laps, before Green grabbed control of the race at the beginning of lap four to lead from there on in. Ralston then engaged in a see-sawing battle with Sanders, with each jostling throughout the day for a proper crack at the lead.

“I just settled into a pace early and stayed there all race. I felt pretty good, although I started cramping up on the last lap and the track is getting really dusty, but we got here and that is the main thing," said Green. “I won here two years ago, then second last year and then another win this year on the 250; I can’t put that into words. I’m really stoked and I’m looking forward to the rest of the year.”

Defending champion Price finished in fourth position, from Husqvarna's Lachlan Stanford.

Yamaha star Chris Hollis had a day to forget after succumbing to an elbow injury in a tangle on the first lap, which kept him out of day two action.

The sprint format on Sunday saw Price come to the fore, taking out all five heats. He won ahead of Green, while Price’s teammate Tye Simmonds turned around the disappointment of crashing out on the final lap on the previous day to finish third.

Sanders and Stefan Granqvist (Yamaha) rounded out the top five.

“Yesterday was tough. Starting the cross-country off at the first turn on my face wasn’t the best idea, but unfortunately that happens. You have to take the good days with the bad days," said Price. “Trying to come through the pack I got filled in with heaps of dust and I crashed another three times out on the track which was not the best and definitely burnt a lot of energy for today (Sunday).

“My sprint format work is pretty good at the moment, but I’m definitely still catching up a bit after Dakar, and every now and then I can feel the body shutting down a little bit, but I know my speed is there.

“We’re only at round four, so there is a long way to go. As long as we stay smooth and consistent and try not to drop further back from a fourth place, we should be somewhere near the front by the end of the season.”

HEDLEY RESULTS

The 2015 Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championship will now head to Karoonda (SA) for rounds five and six on May 23-24.