With the Black Diamond Drilling Kalgoorlie Desert Race and Can-Am Loveday 400 just weeks away, the entry lists for both BFGoodrich Motorsport Australia Off Road Cups are starting to take shape.
Both events have healthy fields already entered, with several high profile BFGoodrich Motorsport Australia Off Road Championship (AORC) stars locked into each.
Kalgoorlie is the first of the two to get underway, and more than 60 crews set for the challenging race that also serves as the final round of the Motorsport Australia WA Off Road Championship
Add the 200 bike riders to the mix, and there is plenty to look forward to in an event that is growing in stature in the off road community.
From a national standpoint, the big names entered for the 400km race are Beau Robinson and Shane Elphinstone, who lead the local charge, while Queenslander Brett Comiskey and Brad Geraghty from Northern Territory will be making their way from across interstate lines.
The entry list also features a huge number of local stars in the state championship including Stephen Phillips, Jared Percival, Stephen Ketteridge-Hall, Troy Schoen and Harleigh Uren.
One week later, it will be the Can-Am Loveday 400’s turn to take centre stage with 42 crews booking their spot for the event where they will tackle 400 kilometres across five sets of two 40km laps.
While there are less crews compared to Kalgoorlie at the moment, the South Australian event has more national names attached with a good mix of states being represented.
Fresh from his enormous fourth place performance at Finke in June, Aaron James leads the New South Wales charge, which also boasts a strong talent pool of 2017 AORC SXS Turbo champion Greg Campbell, off road veteran Phil Lovett, Dean Meginley, Glen Ackroyd and St George top five place getter Jason Richards.
Other big names making their way from outside the state include Victorian Alex Handley and Queenslander Kye Floyd, while Greg Gartner and Toby Whateley are the local AORC superstars flying the South Australian flag.
Remarkably Elphinstone, Smoothy and young Luke Erceg have all registered for both Kalgoorlie and Loveday – meaning the trio will take on the challenge of back-to-back weekends.
While entries for Kalgoorlie are now closed, Loveday remains open until 11:59 ACDT on Wednesday 20 October with interested crews able to enter here.
The Black Diamond Drilling Kalgoorlie Desert Race takes place in Kalgoorlie-Boulder on 22-24 October. Just one week later is the Can-Am Loveday 400 is in Loveday on 29-31 October.
