The 2024 BFGoodrich Motorsport Australia Off Road Championship (AORC) standings after round one have been released, with Wentworth Shire Pooncarie Desert Dash winners, Dale Martin and Tanner James, leading the way.
Following a new points system being introduced ahead of the season opener, Martin and James sit on top of the Driver and Navigator standings with 600 points each.
In second place with 528 points are event runner-up finishers, James Cook and Mitch Aucote, while reigning champion Travis Robinson and navigator Paul Currie sit a further 60 points behind in third place.
In the Transportable Shade Sheds SXS Motorsport Australia Championship, which has the same scoring system, Greg and Tori Campbell lead the way over James and Michael Mogford in second place by 72 points.
While outright and SXS Motorsport Australia Championship points are awarded based on finishing position, class points are based on section results.
In the Pro Buggy class, Martin has a smaller gap over Cook due to the latter finishing higher in the opening section, with just 39 points separating the two drivers.
Finishing the event inside the top five, Beau Robinson secured maximum points in Extreme 2WD having won both sections for the class – a similar outcome for prolite winner Mel Brandle, Norman Parker in Production 4WD and Rick Chambers in Super 1650.
Campbell also leads the way in the SXS Pro class. However, with Mogford winning section one, Lachlan Bailey winning section two, and Glenn Brinkman in the top three for both sections, the class leader only has a 60-point gap over Bailey and Brinkman, while Mogford sits three points off in fourth.
Sportslite winner Paul Tinga and SXS Sport winner John Wisse both have comfortable leads in their respective classes but just missed out on maximum points having finished second in one section.
In Extreme 4WD, there were no finishes for the event, however Phil Lovett sits on top with 204 points having won section one.
The next round of the BFGoodrich Motorsport Australia Off Road Championship is the Tatts Finke Desert Race on 7-10 June.
Photo: Dan Thompson
