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2020 Sponsor and Media EOI’s are Open
Whilst the 2019 WAORC is just past the halfway mark, preparations for the 2020 season are already well and truly underway. The WA Off Road Panel and clubs which run the Western Australian Off Road Racing Championship are looking to continue the series growth as one of the leading Off Road Racing Series in Australia. In order to do this we again need the support of some amazing sponsors and media team.
With the planning of the calendar already underway, the WAORC is anticipating another 6 round series. In order to raise the series to the next level, we have developed 3 tiers of sponsorship packages; Naming Rights, Class Sponsor and Contingency Sponsor. Each have different benefits which are outlined in the Sponsorship Presentation document.
We would like to thank all of our past and continuing sponsors for their support which has been instrumental in the growth and strength of the WAORC as we know it today
Sponsorship EOI and Media position EOI’s close on Thursday 18/10/19 at 5pm. Expressions of Interest must be emailed to waorcsponsorship@iinet.net.au
WAORC Points are tight at the top
Its tight at the top in the WAORC Outright points chase as we have a mix of 3 different classes duking it out in the top 3. First outright with a consistent run so far is Mat Birnie in his SXS Turbo class CanAm X3. Just 2 points behind is Darren Agrela who has taken a pair of wins in his Undecided Racing Jimco. Sitting in third place and ready to pounce on any mistakes is the Carnarvon Motel Racing Sportslite of Peter Barrett.
Throughout the class battles there is plenty more tight points chases with 3 rounds to go. In Pro Buggy Darren Agrela and Brad Cooper are closely matched with Troy Schoen and Marcus Wells snapping at their heels. Prolite sees Mal Yeardley with a strong lead, but he will be wary of the chasing pack of Percival, Metaxas, Knowles and Joyce. Michael Davis has a strong lead over Peter Mellington in Super 1650 as the magic man looks to claim back to back Super 1650 titles. Extreme 2wd is tough to split with Phil Shepley, Daniel Fahey, Russ Cullen and Kent Dunham all evenly matched across the opening three rounds.
Mathew Beck has shown great consistency and pace to lead Performance 2wd over Karl Richardson and Jordan Russell. Production 4wd has the diesel power of Graham Bentink leading the way from Aaron Griffiths who is having a fantastic run in his debut season. In Extreme 4wd Peer Horn holds a slim lead over Mark Murray whilst SXS Sport is a one horse racing with Jason Galea in his Yamaha YXZ. SXS Turbo is very evenly matched with Mat Birnie holding a small lead over Gavin Rodgers with Sean Fitzpatrick in 3rd and Mark Harris at the head of the chasing pack in 4th. Peter Barrett is on one hell of a run in Sportslite with 3 consecutive class wins and leads Joe Hawkins in 2nd with Scott Schiller and Deon Visagie locked on equal points in 3rd
As all eyes turn to the Mid West Challenge the second half of the season is going to see some cracking racing!
Full points are available here
Mid Season Scrutiny meeting a success
The Western Australian Off Road Racing Championship continues to develop and strengthen its position as one of the leading off road racing series in Australia. Recently a meeting of scrutineers was held to ensure consistency from round to round as well as improve training of scrutineers. The meeting was chaired by the AORC CAMS Technical Delegate, Daniel Rogers and was attended by scrutineers from Off Road Racing WA Inc, WAORRA and Western Desert Racers.
Questions were fielded in relation to specific rule interpretations and with open discussion; all scrutineers were able to find an accurate and consistent ruling. This will see a better scrutiny experience for competitors as well as consistency across all races. Competitors should be reminded that as a condition of entry, they are signing that they have read and understand the rules and class regulations and that their vehicles complies with these regulations
With the success of this meeting, the WA Off Road Advisory Panel has tentatively set out for the scrutineers to meet at the start of every season prior to the first race of the year to recap any rule changes, as well as mid-season to review any scrutiny issues from the first 3 WAORC rounds of the year. This continued push for improvement as well as encouraging and training new scrutineers will continue to see off road racing in Western Australia thrive and grow into the future. Thankyou to all scrutineers who attended
Mid West Challenge – Entries Open
ARE YOU TOUGH ENOUGH? Round 3 of the 2019 WAORRA Championship Series, the Cochranes Transport Mid-West Challenge, is set to make the dirt fly in Eganu on 17-18 August.
Now in its third year, the Cochranes Transport Mid-West Challenge is Round 4 of the 2019 CAMS, Western Australian Off-Road Racing Championship and Round 3 of the WAORRA Club Championship Series. With its tight scrubby sections of bush and short straights, ‘Challenge19’ continues to live up to its name of being one of the toughest events on the Western Australian off-road racing calendar. Event organiser Russ advises competitors to ‘keep all four wheels on the track or you might be dealt a nasty surprise’, due to the amount of tree stumps and rocks that can be found just off-track.
Just north-east of Badgingarra and directly east from Leeman, the location is approximately 295km north of Perth. Our event organising crew have been up at the track preparing sections of what’s shaping up to be a great track. Forget fencelines and crops, this is real off-road racing! But the team needs your help – get a crew together and come along to help track marking on 3-4 August. Contact Russ on 0408 390 289 for all the details.
The event format caters to both State and Multi-Club entrants, with six laps of the 40km circuit for State competitors, and five laps for Multi-Club competitors. Entries are now open and close at 5:00pm on Friday 9 August. Read the supplementary regulations for all the event info for competitors and spectators.
Scrutineering and Documentation is by appointment only on Saturday, so competitors – if you are unable to arrive on Friday evening, please contact us (by email president@waorra.com) to make an appointment for Saturday morning. Limited places are available so get in quick!
Housekeeping
Camping is free and available from Friday 16 to Monday 19 August, with portable toilets available at the track. There will be a canteen on site from Friday evening to Sunday afternoon thanks to Mike and Rachel Henderson from Badgingarra Roadhouse and Tourist Park, and Cappucino Xpress will be serving up strong coffee and hot chocolate all weekend. For consideration of the drivers and co-drivers getting in their race cars early in the mornings, a noise curfew applies at midnight Friday and Saturday nights. No motorbikes. No dogs. No individual camp fires. Read the Supplementary Regulations for all event details for both competitors and spectators. At the request of the property owners, please take all rubbish home with you.
Thank you
We’d like to thank major sponsor Cochrane’s Transport and the Cochrane family for their continued support of this event and off-road racing in WA. Thanks also to Jim’s Trees Willetton and Remote Plumbing, Gas and Civil for site works. And a big shout out to our amazing team of volunteer event organisers who have been spending their weekends grading the track, clearing trees, building jumps, organising logistics and preparing documentation. It’s going to be a great event!
Team 92 Win Red Arc Contingency at Bencubbin
The Team 92 entry of Terry and Annie Hosking have won the Red Arc Contingency Prize at the Marsue Transport Bencubbin 400. For their efforts they have picked up a REDARC Smartcharge AC Battery Charger. REDARC’s 6 amp SmartCharge by DEFA is a smart, portable AC battery charger that is an ideal solution for battery maintenance, charging most common 12V automotive batteries that you find around the home and garage.
Hosking was making his return behind the wheel after several years out and had an up and down event over the gruelling 400km race. Prologue started well with 14th outright and 2nd in class a great result amongst a field of nearly 50 competitors
Section 1 saw trouble strike as damaged front suspension took them out early on lap 1. A big effort overnight saw the #492 Pro Truck fixed and ready to tackle the final 2 sections of the race. The Hosking duo netted 18th outright during the second section and turned it up event more to fire home 14th outright in the final section, both times being the quickest Extreme 2wd competitor
The Kalgoorlie competitors put on a great show of racing and we look forward to seeing more of the bright blue truck during the remainder of the 2019 WAORC. Thanks again to Red Arc for their support of the Western Australian Off Road Racing Championship and for more information please see http://www.redarc.com.au or find them on Facebook
WAORC Points Update
As we get prepared for Round 3 of the 2019 WAORC at Bencubbin lets take a quick look at the points situation after 2 rounds. With some fantastic racing already seen over the first 2 rounds, it is the competitors who have been most consistent who are occupying the top placings and this championship race is wide open!
In 1st place for the outright points for the first time in WAORC history is a SXS and its a competitor who is in his rookie season. Mat Birnie has had strong run so far with a 5th and a 4th and sits on 33 points holds a 4 point lead. In 2nd place outright is Peter Barrett, the Sportslite competitor from Carnarvon who has been impressive in both outings so far this season. Mark Murray has slotted his Diesel powered Extreme 4wd into 3rd outright and is followed by Mark Harris who sits 4th in his CanAm X3 on 22 points. The round winners from the first 2 races, Darren Agrela and Shane Elphinstone hold down 5th and 6th on 21 points in their twin turbo Jimcos with Sean Fitzpatrick, another rookie who has put in a strong shift early also on 21 points. Gavin Rodgers is 8th with 20 points with Phil Shepley and John Pursehouse rounding out the top 10, both sitting on 19 points. Its tight at the top and as we hit the halfway point in the season, Bencubbin could be a turning point on the race for WA #1
Entries for the Marsue Transport Bencubbin 360, which will be the 10th event to be held at Bencubbin will be opening soon,. Stay tuned as the WAORRA, the event organisers are working on something special!
Progressive points for outright and classes after 2 rounds can be found here
REDARC to help power WAORC team
We would like to welcome onboard REDARC as a contingency sponsor for the remainder of the 2019 Western Australian Off Road Racing Championship
REDARC has 40 years’ experience in the research, design, development and manufacture of a range of electronic voltage converters and associated products, inverters, power supplies, battery chargers, brake controllers and trailer braking products.
Competitors displaying the REDARC stickers on their vehicle will go into the draw to win a REDARC Smartcharge AC Battery Charger. REDARC’s 6 amp SmartCharge by DEFA is a smart, portable AC battery charger that is an ideal solution for battery maintenance, charging most common 12V automotive batteries that you find around the home and garage.
The 6A SmartCharge is so intelligent it automatically recognises the type of battery it is connected to and adjusts its charge process to what charging your battery needs. With an in-built display you can have peace of mind knowing the state of charge and level of your batteries charge.
This is just one of the quality products which they have on offer, so be sure to check out what they have on offer and support those who support our sport. For more information see www.redarc.com.au
Big field of Buggies for the 2019 Dash
The Buggy classes have come to put on a show at the 2019 Gascoyne Dash as a large field of entrants including some former winners are lined up and ready to go. The Pro Buggy class will be a battle of the heavyweights as some of the sports big names prepare to go toe to toe through the desert.
#19 Troy Schoen had a difficult run in 2018, but is back to make amends this year. Shane Elphinstone has always been strong when the WAORC heads to the north west and will again be one of the front runners. #61 Dean Terry is making his Pro Buggy class debut after previously piloting a Can-Am and will be a dark horse in the Terry Haulage Jimco. Brett Renton will be flying the flag for the locals in his Jimco and David Don will be hoping for a strong run in his #76 ‘Troppy Tavern’ Buggy. Round 1 winners Undecided Racing will be hoping to back up their Perenjori win and taste the champagne again at Round 2, whilst Justin Steadman will be hoping for a better run this round after a broken axle put him out of Round 1 in early March. The #968 of Brad Cooper will be a strong contender again this year and look out for the day 2 charge as this team has been known to lay out all on the line late in the race
In the Prolite class George Metaxas and Mal Yeardley will duke it out for honors, but both will be hoping that they can nail down a few of the higher powered Pro Buggy competitors. In Sportslite Peter Barrett is the only competitor in his Honda powered Bullet, whilst Michael Davis is the only Super 1650 competitor
All eyes will be on this group of competitors to see who can fire the first shot by taking pole position during prologue and if they can then convert the dust free run into a strong day 1 advantage. We are tipping a close race between all of the buggy competitors and cant wait to see the red dirt fly!
SXS’s in for a big battle!
The SXS class competitors have once again turned up in very strong numbers with 12 competitors lining up at the 2019 Gascoyne Dash. All 12 are competing in the SXS Turbo class and are split across 3 different manufacturers, Polaris, Yamaha and Can-Am. This battle is going to go right down to the wire at one of the toughest desert events in Australia
Simon Clifford, Rob Alford, Ben Hodge and Brent Fowler make up a quartet of Polaris competitors who are making the trip north. Alford and Hodge are armed with the latest model, the Polaris Turbo S and will be hoping to make their mark. Clifford and Fowler are both running the RZR Turbo model and will be coming into the event having shown some exceptional speed earlier this season
Flying the Flag for CanAm there are 7 x X3’s ready to take on WA’s finest. #611 Mark Harris currently sits 3rd outright in the WAORC after a brilliant opening round at Perenjori and will be one of the favorites. Chris Kounis is making his debut in a brand new X3, whilst Colin Bevan, Mathew Birnie and Sean Fitzpatrick are all back for their second WAORC event. Gavin Rodgers and Brad Close round out the list of Can-Ams and both will be red hot contenders in the class battle
The final competitor in the class and man who laid down a very impressive time in 2018 is Mark Wainwright. The Yamaha pilot has upgraded the #627 machine with the addition of a turbo and will be hoping for a repeat of the 2nd outright that he pulled on the Carnarvon to Gascoyne Junction leg of last years race.
With such a closely matched field, a clean run both ways will be essential in the battle for a podium finish.
Tin Tops Ready to Rumble at the Dash
The 2019 Coral Coast Helicopters, Kickstarters Gascoyne Dash is set to light up the north west and a strong field of 35 entries are ready to get down to business. The Dash typically has been a favorite amongst the tin top competitors and this year has been no different
In the 2wd classes we see #427 Chris Hill making his debut in the Idlewild Off Road Chevy Silverado. The big truck will start as class favorite, but will be wary of the threat posed by the #455 Trophy Lancer of Russ Cullen and Fluffy Fahey. The final 2wd entrant is the iconic Performance 2wd Kingswood run out of the WA Off Road Junior Development Program stable. Matty Beck is back for another run and will be sure to fly the flag high for the team
In Production 4wd it will be a three-way fight between Barry Schultz, Gary Kirkwood and Chris May. With three different vehicles, a Jeep Grand Cherokee, A Nissan GU Patrol and a Nissan GQ Patrol at the ready its going for an interesting race to Gascoyne Junction and back
The Extreme 4wd class will feature a red hot battle and this one really is anyone’s game! #807 John Pursehouse saddles up in his Ford Ranger and will surely start as one of the class favorites. Peer Horn in his Mercedes G Wagon thrives on this style of event and will be looking to emerge from the desert victorious. Greg Pickersgill fresh from a run at Perenjori is now acclimatized to his GQ Patrol and will be another to watch. The final 2 competitors in the class have gone toe to toe in the north west numerous times and the #848 of Mitchell Davies and #866 of Mark Murray will be in strong contention for a podium finish
With all the action kicking off this week the Round 2 of the 2019 WAORC is going to be another massive event. Stay tuned as we next take a look at the SXS and buggy competitors for this years Gas Dash