HUSQVARNA AND SANDERS CLINCH AORC E3 CROWN

Husqvarna Enduro Racing Team’s Daniel Sanders has earned the 2019 Australian Off-Road Championship (AORC) E3 title with two rounds to spare following a dominant performance at Coonalpyn, South Australia, on 31 August – 1 September.

Sanders, who stepped up to E3 riding the Husqvarna FE 501 after winning the E2 crown last season, was unstoppable in the pair of sand-based Sprint rounds to seal the series.

Round eight saw Sanders win in class by 4m15.514s and then he repeated that effort in round nine by extending his advantage to 6m02.240s. Both days saw him record the quickest times of all categories outright.

It was also a convincing weekend for Husqvarna Enduro Racing Team’s E1 contender Fraser Higlett aboard the Husqvarna FE 250, riding to fourth on Saturday and improving to third on Sunday. He’s currently third in the point standings.

The 2019 Australian Off-Road Championship (AORC) will conclude with rounds 10 and 11 to be held at Hedley, Victoria, between 14-15 September.

Christian Horwood – Team Manager, Husqvarna Enduro Racing Team: “We’re really proud of this result as ‘Chucky’ dominated both days in E3, topped the outright times and was able to clinch the championship as well. It’s been a perfect season for him so far and he was the class of the field on both Saturday and Sunday in South Australia – it was outstanding. For Fraser, he was fourth yesterday and really turned things around on today’s track to improve for third in class, so that was great to see and he’s third in the E1 standings. It’s been a massive team effort from everybody involved in the Husqvarna Enduro Racing Team, the bikes have been faultless all season and we’re really satisfied to be in this position with two rounds still to go.”

Daniel Sanders – Husqvarna FE 501: “It’s a bit of a surprise to be able to win the E3 championship this weekend, but it was good to wrap that up after what was an awesome weekend on my Husqvarna FE 501. The bike is handling unreal thanks to Choice Suspension, plus the entire Husqvarna Enduro Racing Team has been so good all season and we’re really, really happy to win this title. Coonalpyn’s rounds were good, really tough on Saturday and today’s track offered a good mixture of challenges also. Thank you to everybody who has enabled us to get this result and now we’ll keep pushing leading into the final rounds at Hedley.”

Fraser Higlett – Husqvarna FE 250: “This weekend was interesting for me because I struggled a little bit yesterday when the track was really quick, but today was a bit more technical and I was happy to walk away with third. I felt more comfortable in those conditions, so it was nice to get back on the podium, and now we have to keep trying hard into the final rounds and look to land on the podium in the championship – hopefully we’re able to get it across the line.”

2019 Australian Off-Road Championship (AORC) – Coonalpyn, SA Round 8 Results:

E3
1. Daniel Sanders (Husqvarna)

2. Andrew Wilksch (Sherco)

3. Alexander Bolton (KTM)

4. Jesse Lawton (Husqvarna)

5. Luke Bunnik (Gas Gas)