Gardiner, Pumpa and Ballard leave Kingston AORC victorious

The Kingston SE weather turned it on for Round 8 of the Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championship (AORC) as the riders took to the Blu Cru test for nine laps. Making the most of the glorious conditions and the excellent track was Jessica Gardiner (Womens), Rowan Pumpa (Veterans) and Michael Widdison (Masters) who all took commanding victories.

The shortest of the three tests was in store for the Womens, Veterans and Masters class at Kingston SE, with the Blu Cru test length being 4.5km. Although the test was the shorter of the three tracks, it definitely put the riders to work with different terrains such as, sandy grasstrack, low tree scrub and open flowy sections.

It was another glorious day at Round 9 of the AORC on Sunday as competitors once again battled it out over nine sprints. Jessica Gardiner (Womens) and Rowan Pumpa (Masters) both backed up Saturday’s win with another here today, while Geoffrey Ballard turned the table to grab the Masters Victory.

Jessica Gardiner – Image by John Pearson Media

Tthe Womens, Veterans and Masters moved onto the YZF450 test, which was a fraction longer today for the riders and with the ruts already established, the riders had a battle on their hands. The soft sand and low tea tree bush section played a part as the riders had to find new lines to stay at the front.

Womens – Round 8

Gardiner has made her way back into the winner’s circle here in the Womens class of the AORC, after putting in a great days riding on her Yamaha. Gardiner set the tone for her victory by jumping out of the block ahead of her competition with three test times under six minutes and ten seconds.

Gardiner enjoyed the conditions here at Kingston SE finishing with a time of 55:08.902; “Today was fun, I really enjoyed it. Today’s conditions were exactly what I like to ride in, nice and sandy. I felt really good on my WR250 and I look forward to jumping on the track again tomorrow,” finished Gardiner.

Just off the pace of Gardiner was Emelie Karlsson who completed her days riding with a time of 57:28.481 and will be right in the hunt to take it to Gardiner in tomorrow’s sprints.

Rounding out the podium in the women’s class and showing great continual improvement was Danielle Foot, the Sherco rider finished the day with a time of 1:01:10.094.

AORC Round 8 Womens Provisional Top 4

Jessica Gardiner (Yamaha MX Store Ballards Off-Road Team) 55:08.902
Emelie Karlsson 57:28.481
Danielle Foot (Motul Pirelli Sherco Off-Road Team) 1:01:10.094
Hayley Gray 1:28:07.388

Womens – Round 9

Backing up her efforts from Saturday was none other than Gardiner who showed once again that she loves the sandy conditions here at Kingston SE. Gardiner aboard her Yamaha got off to a solid start in the first few sprints, but as the day went on Gardiner pulled away, showing her work off the bike has been paying off, and recording a time of 1:12:29.690.

Jessica Gardiner – Image by John Pearson Media

“Sand is my favourtie terrain to ride and for me it was all about staying upright and I managed to do that bar one test where I had one off. I had a lot of fun out there and when it got a bit rough I was lucky that my pro moto suspension handled it with ease,” said Gardiner.

Making it a pair of second place finishes was Emelie Karlsson aboard her Yamaha, Karlsson just couldn’t find the speed of Gardiner and settled with a time of 1:14:37.282.

In third position was once again Sherco’s Danielle Foot, who continues to impress in the off-road format after making the jump from motocross this season. Foot recorded a 1:17:08.257 to cap off her weekend at Kingston SE.

Womens Round 9 Podium – Image by John Pearson Media

AORC Round 9 Womens Provisional Top 3

Jessica Gardiner (Yamaha MX Store Ballards Off-Road Team) 1:12:29.690
Emelie Karlsson 1:14:37.282
Danielle Foot (Motul Pirelli Sherco Off-Road Team) 1:17:08.257

Veterans – Round 8

Pumpa was the man to beat in the Veterans class, getting off to a flyer right from the first test and he didn’t look back. The KTM rider took the win by just under two minutes with his time of 52:14.564.

Rowan Pumpa – Image by John Pearson Media

Finishing behind Pumpa in second position was Leigh Bentley who put in a great days riding, Bentley found great time in the back end of the day which helped him to a time of 54:14.153.

A rider who has been seen at the front of the veteran’s field throughout the season has been Richard Chibnall but today he would settle for the last spot on the podium, with a 54:24.474.

AORC Round 8 Veterans Provisional Top 5

Rowan Pumpa 52:14.564
Leigh Bentley 54:14.153
Richard Chibnall 54:24.474
Peter Rudd 54:59.944
Jade Gartlan 55:20.181

Veterans – Round 9

Pumpa made it two from two at Kingston SE as he left the field in his wake on the way to victory with a time of 1:09:30.703. Pumpa used his local knowledge to his advantage and was a man on a mission this weekend.

Just like yesterday it would be Leigh Bentley finishing just behind Pumpa to make it a pair of second place finishes. Bentley recorded the time of 1:09:49.444 to end a solid weekends riding for the South Australian rider.

Snaring the last spot on the podium was once again Richard Chibnall on his KTM, a man who has been at the front of the Veterans field for most of the season to date, would have to settle for third with his effort of 1:12:52.379.

Veterans Round 9 Podium – Image by John Pearson Media

AORC Round 9 Veterans Provisional Top 5

Rowan Pumpa 1:09:30.703
Leigh Bentley 1:09:49.444
Richard Chibnall 1:12:52.379
Jade Gartlan 1:13:12.736
Peter Rudd 1:15:08.618

Masters – Round 8

Widdison led the way in the master’s class after grabbing a 13 second advantage after the first test and then carried that speed throughout the nine tests. His time of 57:48.365 was just too quick for the rest of the field here at Kingston SE.

Michael Widdison – Image by John Pearson Media

The man in second place has been the man to beat in the master’s class so far in season 2018, but today Geoffrey Ballard would have to settle for second position after clocking a time of 59:00.730.

A battle between Ballard and Craig Treasure in third position was enthralling, with the pair going back and fourth during tests, but Treasure would have to settle for the last spot on the podium with a 59:41.332.

AORC Round 8 Masters Provisional Top 5

Michael Widdison 57:48.365
Geoffrey Ballard 59:00.730
Craig Treasure 59:41.332
Michael Klein 1:05:35.760
Andrew Widdison 1:07:28.201

Masters – Round 9

After a narrow defeat yesterday, not even a cut to the arm would get in the way of Ballard taking the win today, aboard his KTM as he stopped the clock at 1:16:48.660.

Finishing just three seconds behind was Saturday’s winner Michael Widdison, posting a time of 1:16:51.665, which handed him second place.

Masters Round 9 Podium – Image by John Pearson Media

Rounding out the podium in the master’s class was Craig Treasure with his time of 1:19:01.029, Treasure is a consistent front runner in the class and showed great skills throughout the challenging terrain.