State News: Stalker claims top honours in Tasmania

Michael Stalker has taken out the first round of the CAMS Tasmanian Off Road Championship after putting in a solid second half performance during the 150km race.

Taking place in Symmons Plains, Stalker started the race in second place behind Prologue winner Luke Morris and trailed him throughout the whole first 12 lap section.

In the second section, Morris continued his stellar start to the race and led for the opening 10 laps as Stalker temporarily fell to third behind Chris Boon during the third lap.

Boon defended his spot for three laps but was then forced to retire due to mechanical issues as Stalker retook the position and began piling pressure on Morris. On the 10th lap of the section, the pressure paid off as Morris was the next driver to have a premature exit and fail to finish the section.

For the remainder of the race, the SXS Yamaha pilot remained unchallenged as he won the third and fourth sections with ease to take an outright victory of six minutes over Andrew Giffard.

In challenging conditions, both Stalker and Giffard were the only two drivers to complete every lap and every section as the two’s consistency were a cut above the rest.

Click here to view the full results.

Rounding out the podium was Wayne Campbell, who ended the day with three completed sections.

Finishing behind Campbell was Chris Branch and Kateland Marshall, while Morris and Boon finished outside the top five after both drivers were unable to recover properly following their second section mishaps.

All three-podium placers went home as class victors, with Giffard claiming top honours for the Super 1650s and Campbell the pick of the Pro Buggies.

The next round of the CAMS Tasmanian Off Road Championship takes place at Cambridge Motorpark just outside Hobart on 18 May.