Back-to-back title for Martin, Brown takes consecutive Pines

The 2023 ARB Australian Off Road Racing Championship wrapped up with the Teagle Excavations Pines Enduro at Millicent in South Australia. In a dominant performance, Victorians Danny Brown and George Apted won the event again in their Ultimate Class Alumi Craft/Nissan V6 Twin Turbo buggy.

Meanwhile, fourth-placed reigning outright champions and points leader Brent Martin did it again with his third ARB AORRC title, together with Andre De Simone and Michael Grose navigating the Ultimate Jimco Aussie Special/Nissan TT.

Brown finished 3:23.4s ahead of class rivals Carl Haby and Chloe Roehr (Element Off Road Prodigy/Toyota V8 TT) with Andrew and Fletcher Murdock (Class 11 Prodigy/Chev LS2 7.0lt) third, another 29.7s away.

Held at Teagle’s Quarry, Millicent and Mt Burr Forest, the event covered four laps of the six-kilometre Short Course that made up Heat 1. On Day 2 there were by six laps of the 66km Long Course in two-lap segments that made up Heat 2.

Brown won two of the four laps to lead at the end of Heat 1. Murdock who led at the end of the first lap, trailed by less than a minute with the fastest on fourth lap Haby in third spot. Mat Hanson and Nigel Pendlebury (Unlimited Jimco/Ecoboost TT) started strongly and were second on the first lap. But they faded to 42nd and power steering issues ultimately put them out.

With five of six quickest laps in Heat 2, Brown extended his margin by the end. Dale Martin and Adrian Rowe (Class 11 Alpha, Chev LS) was third behind Murdock on the first Long Course lap and followed up with top five results until a poor last lap.

Fifth outright were Steven and Ella Graham (Alumi Craft/Honda K24) who took out Class 10. Seventh behind Adam Bierl/Nyree Burmingham (Jimco/Chev) were Class 1 winners David and Alice Middlemiss (Cougar/Nissan V6). Class 4 went to 11th-placed Class 4 victors Jamie Knight/Lachlan Brosnan (HallBuilt Chev Silverado/LS2), two places ahead of Jackson Evans and Sam Raper who debuted their new Polaris RZR Turbo S for the Class 6 laurels.

Other classes went to Brendan Forssman and Leigh Whitehand (Class 2 Ratbag/Toyota), Darren and Kayleen Gill/Natalie Pike (Class 7 Nissan Patrol), and Matt Lavis/Andrew Dance (Class 66 Yamaha YXZ 1000R).