Talented young off-road racer Riley McGillivray commenced his senior career with two impressive podium performances at rounds one and two of the 2023 Australian Off-Road Championship (AORC) in Mendooran, NSW, after stepping up to the E3 ranks.
Last year's EJ championship winner McGillivray has switched to a KTM 500 EXC-F for the new season, swiftly adapting as he charged to two third-place results across the weekend.
On Saturday’s sandier sprint tests, McGillvray negotiated the challenging conditions to keep himself in the mix with the sand specialists. The second round on Sunday moved to rougher, more technical tests, and the talented Victorian was again in contention, finishing the five stages with a comfortable two-minute buffer over fourth place.
Next on the schedule, Queensland Moto Park will host rounds three and four of the AORC season between 22-23 April.
New KTM signing Andy Wilksch was unfortunately unable to compete in Mendooran's opening rounds, currently recovering from knee and leg injuries that have delayed his start to the 2023 season.
Riley McGillivray: “It was great to be back racing again, but I struggled with the sandy tests on Saturday. We don’t have much sand to train on in Bright, so the two guys in front of me have a bit of an edge in that respect. I made a few too many mistakes and silly little errors, but my lap times were good and I’m happy to still get good points! Sunday’s round swapped to a tighter, rougher track and I enjoyed it a lot. I was happy with my riding, and have good speed, but I know I have to work on my consistency going into the next few rounds. Third again today was another good result though, and it was great to start the season with some good points.”