Young Queenslander Josh Wiedman has expressed his desire to return to the Polaris Motorsport Australia Off Road Championship (AORC) after a year on the sidelines.
The 18-year-old’s last event in the AORC was back in August 2022 for the Rainbow Desert Dash, while he enjoyed a SXS Pro class victory and outright top 10 finish in the preceding event, the Loveday 400.
While a lack of budget and commitments to the Bosch Motorsport Australia Rally Championship prevented him from competing in the AORC this year, Wiedman was hopeful he could return to the off road championship in some capacity this year.
“Off road is what I began motorsport in and the AORC was my first national championship, so I would love to keep competing if I can,” Wiedman said.
“With that said, driving rally cars improved my driving and I think that it could have a good impact on my off road skills.
“It would be good to get back and a few runs in the buggy – we’re planning to do at least one round at a minimum and see if we can try and squeeze in a couple more – it all comes down to time and budget though.
“We have a truck that can transport the cars now, so that’s no longer an issue, so if we can get a good budget together, then I don’t see why we couldn’t go to more events.
“The overall plan is to run in the SXS class again and maybe move up to a new Can Am. I’d love to run in a pro buggy or something, but it all depends on sponsorship. I don’t think we can afford it.
“Honestly, I missed the AORC a lot this year. We really miss the off road community as a whole so I can’t wait to come back.”
The first round of the 2024 Polaris Motorsport Australia Off Road Championship season is the Pooncarie Desert Dash in New South Wales on 19-21 April.
