GASGAS-supported off-road front-runner Korey McMahon proved he’s in some of the best form of his young career at rounds seven and eight of the 2023 Australian Off-Road Championship (AORC) at Keyneton in South Australia this weekend.
Aboard his 2023 GASGAS EC 250F, McMahon was unlucky to not win Saturday’s Cross Country race outright after leading the vast majority of the gruelling three-hour race, but rebounded in Sunday’s Sprint formats to take second in the E1 class and feature on the outright podium.
Round seven's Cross Country race got off to a storming start for the talented Kurrajong rider, as he quickly moved into the lead and maintained a healthy buffer around the extremely dry and dusty circuit. Unfortunately, on the final lap, and just a handful of kilometres from the finish-line, an unexpected issue as a result of the conditions caused him to DNF.
Eager to put the disappointing result behind him, McMahon charged into Sunday’s Sprint tests and again showed plenty of race-winning speed. Several crashes in the deceptive, dust-filled ruts hampered his time, but he still managed to negotiate the rocks and powder-holes to finish P2 in his class and third outright, just over one minute shy of the overall round win.
Elsewhere, GASGAS-mounted Jye Dickson proved he’s a master of many talents, with a consistent brace of third-place finishes in the competitive E2 class. Dickson’s times were good enough for sixth outright in the Cross Country format, and ninth outright in Sunday’s Sprint tests.
The weekend also saw Taylor Thompson impress onboard her GASGAS, finishing on the podium in round eight with second position overall in the EW ranks.
Kyogle in New South Wales will host rounds seven and eight of the 2023 championship from 16-17 September.
Korey McMahon: “Saturday started really well when I got into the lead of the Cross Country race early and controlled things from there, until a malfunction about five kilometres from the finish. It was disappointing as we were sitting first in class and first outright at the time, but that’s part of off-road racing and the conditions were brutal. Today I showed really good pace, but I struggled to keep it on two wheels... The track was really tricky, with very deep ruts, deep dust holes, and the powder dust covered everything, which made it super-hard to read the terrain. All in all though, it was a good bounce back and it was encouraging to see we have the speed to win tests outright, so I’ll take that confidence into the next rounds.”