James Mogford remains more determined than ever to win the SXS Motorsport Australia Championship title after coming close last year.
Mogford finished the year in second place behind James Cook after a thrilling four-way title fight with Glenn Brinkmann, Greg Campbell and the eventual champion went right down to the wire.
Although Mogford fell short of the title in what was his first official BFGoodrich Motorsport Australia Off Road Championship (AORC) season, the Queenslander still has a good foundation to build on.
And despite Cook taking the step up to the outright championship after purchasing a pro buggy in the off season, Mogford was not getting ahead of himself.
“This year’s mentality is no different to last year, regardless of who is competing and who is not. It doesn’t matter who we’re up against, we are going full attack,” Mogford said.
“Cooky is a great competitor and great to race against, but we both had unfortunate moments last year and at the end of the day, it’s who keeps their car alive the longest who will win.
“We were the bridesmaid last year, which is a little frustrating but still very promising considering it was our first full time season in the AORC.
“We want the number one plate and I have the confidence in us as a team to be able to deliver a title, but it won’t be easy as there are a few people in the SXS class that are getting the new Can-Am Maverick R, which will definitely shake up the field.”
Ahead of the season opener at Pooncarie, a defiant Mogford revealed he is putting all his eggs in one basket for the 2024 season.
“At the end of the day, we came close last year, so there is no reason we can’t do it again this year,” Mogford said.
“What will help us achieve that is our focus this year is purely the AORC. Last year we did a number of events in addition to the national championship, but this year, we will cut down on our overall campaign to focus on winning that title.
“At this point, we haven’t done any race prep on the car. We have really enjoyed the break, it’s been nice to not work on the car, but that prep will start to ramp up in the next couple of weeks.
“We may also have a new major sponsor in the pipelines, which means a new look, and we already have good backing and support from last year, so it’s exciting times.”
Entries for the AORC season opener will be open until 11:59pm AEDT on Friday 5 April, with interested crews able to enter the event via the Motorsport Australia Member Portal.
View the Pooncarie Desert Dash Supplementary Regulations.
The Wentworth Shire Pooncarie Desert Dash kicks off the 2024 AORC season in Pooncarie on 19-21 April.
