Yamaha report from Australian Off Road Championship Final

 

The Ballard’s Yamaha Off Road Team wrapped up another successful year of competition on the weekend at the staging of the final two rounds of the Yamaha Australian Off Road Championship. Class and consistency had kept the riders at the front of the points standings for much of the year, and the final stage on Sunday formalised the team’s fantastic results, with 5 individual championship wins and 2 of the 3 outright Pro series podiums.

This weekend’s racing consisted of two separate formats – cross country on Saturday and sprint on Sunday. The recent rain kept riders on their toes, with muddy areas proving especially challenging as the day wore on. Yamaha’s Pro Class riders were on fire early, and the round 11 results reflected this form. Jarrod Bewley stood atop the podium, with Chris Hollis in 3rd. Encouragingly the pairing was split by a privateer Yamaha entrant, Kirk Hutton, who performed exceptionally well to outclass the other factory riders.

Bewley and Hollis won their individual classes, along with teammates Geoff Ballard and Alison Parker. Sunday’s sprint format saw a reduced number of heats due to the rain, which was significantly slowing riders and making the going tough. Ballards rider Shannon Lewry was in his element, and wrapped up an impressive 3rd for the round 12 clash. In doing so he also won the Pro E2 class for the day, a great reward for his hard work this season.

In outright terms for the year, Chris Hollis finishes runner-up, with Jarrod Bewley in third. Hollis said he was very pleased with his final result and had enjoyed a very successful year at the front with his team. “The weekend’s conditions weren’t the best but I pushed on to keep my outright position, I’m very happy with second, it’s been a successful year,” said Hollis. “Thanks to everyone who has made it happen, to my teammates and the crew, and to Yamaha who provides us with a flawless WR250F to go racing with.”

Bewley was equally elated by his own season and felt he had made a massive improvement to his riding style over the last twelve months. “I’ve really enjoyed myself this season and I’m stoked with this result, the bike has been great all year and always one of the quickest out there.” “To finish on the podium for the year is a great achievement and credit also should go to the guys that prepare our bikes.”

Once again Geoff Ballard and Alison Parker finished on top, both easily wrapping up their class titles, Masters and Womens respectively. Ballard blitzed the field for the entire year, winning everything there was to win and taking maximum points at all 12 rounds. Parker was very close behind, taking 10 round wins and countless stage and heat victories on her way to reaffirming herself as the nation’s premier female rider.

In the Clubman ranks, Josh Ballard bounced back on Sunday to snare the Expert E2/E3 class win, with the points gained allowing him to edge out his closest rival to take an incredibly hard-fought championship win.

 

 
Round 11 Results

Pro Overall
1. Jarrod Bewley
3. Chris Hollis

Pro E1
1. Chris Hollis

Pro E2
2. Shannon Lewry

Pro E3 1. Jarrod Bewley

Expert E2 3. Josh Ballard

Masters
1. Geoff Ballard

Womens 1. Alison Parker

Round 12 Results

Pro Overall
3. Shannon Lewry
5. Chris Hollis
7. Jarrod Bewley

Pro E1
3. Chris Hollis
Pro E2
1. Shannon Lewry
3. Jarrod Bewley Expert
E2
1. Josh Ballard
Masters
1. Geoff Ballard
Womens
1. Alison Parker

Championship Standings

Pro Overall  2. Chris Hollis 3. Jarrod Bewley
Pro E1 1. Chris Hollis
Pro E2 3. Shannon Lewry
Pro E3 1. Jarrod Bewley
Expert E2 1. Josh Ballard
Masters 1. Geoff Ballard
Womens 1. Alison Parker