AORC 2023 review: Here’s to you Mr Robinson

WA duo Travis Robinson and Andrew Pinto were crowned Motorsport Australia Off Road champions in 2023 with the Pro Buggy pair in a league of their own.

The Pointscore showed a dominant 255 point victory by season’s end, but it was consistency that got the #13 Jimco Nissan-powered buggy over the line, with the champions finally getting a well deserved outright victory in the very final outing.

The five-round 2023 title swept across the bush, dust, and mud of Australia’s outer regions with visits to Queensland (Gold City 450), NSW (Pooncarie Desert Dash), NT (Finke Desert Race) SA (Loveday 400), and WA (Kalgoorlie Desert Race).

The season saw five different event winners in the end, including Aussie Off Road legend Toby Price taking out an unprecedented ninth Finke victory in the competition’s crown jewel – his third straight on four wheels to go with his six Moto category wins.

Prolite Buggy champion Mel Brandle also finished second in the championship.

But after taking the championship lead in NSW, then a third straight outright podium at Finke (which included the class win), the title race was then iced in Round 4 at the Loveday 400, with Robinson and his Navigator Pinto capping a fairytale comeback after six years away for a maiden title.

Prolite Buggy class champion Mel Brandle finished second in the title outright race, whilst Travis’ brother Beau Robinson took third in the championship, 273 points in arrears, and only three points ahead of Pooncarie race winner Raana Horan, whilst James Cook rounded out the top-five.

Cook, the winner of the opening Gold City 450 round, also took out the heavily populated SXS Pro class title.

The Extreme 2WD title didn’t fall the way of third place finisher Robinson, with Nicholas Commins getting it done with two class wins.

In the smaller fields, the class titles went to Joshua Gaskin (Sportslite Buggy), Brad Geraghty (Super1650 Buggy) Sean Beck (Performance 2WD), Adam Jiear (Production 4WD class),  John White (SXS Sport class) and Phillip Lovett Extreme 4WD.

TOUGH-COUNTRY GOING

As stated, it wasn’t until WA where the champions added the cherry to the cake, with three different classes covering the outright wins over five drivers.

Toby Price made a star appearance at the Finke Desert Race.

History was made in the opening round (the inaugural Gold City 450) when Cook became the first ever SXS driver to win an AORC round outright alongside navigator Mitch Aucote, beating reigning champion Ryan Taylor with Robinson in third (second in class).

The trip down south to NSW then saw some class order restored, but it was a couple of NZ marauders in Raana Horan and Michael Connor who claimed their first win in Oz, at Pooncarie, by 10 minutes.

And whilst Robinson/Pinto secured P2 and the title lead, it was Brandle and Nick Price who took their first outright AORC podiums.

The third round saw the Finke Desert Race head to Alice Springs for one of Off Road racing’s most remote races – but the cars component almost didn’t go ahead, with Motorsport Australia and the Finke organisers under the gun in relation to competitor and spectator safety at prior Finke events.

 When the event got the green light, with safety changes made, Price and co-driver Jason Duncan set about marching to a dominant win.

The two-time Dakar winner, competing in the extreme 2WD class, overcame Greg Gartner with a clean sweep of the Prologue, and Days 1 and 2, with his Mitsubishi Trophy Truck falling just 0.4s short of his all-time course record set last year, completing this year with a time of 3:21:46.6.

Robinson again came through with the goods in outright third and a class win, seven minutes behind Gartner to be in control of his destiny for the SA round.

And whilst the season would see a fourth outright winner at Loveday in nine-time AORC champions Shannon and Ian Rentsch, it was Robinson, fourth outright (and fourth in class) who stole the show with his maiden title.

“It feels good – all the years and lessons from the old man (Brian Robinson) finally paid off,” Robinson said, paying tribute to his late father after securing the title.

Travis Robinson celebrates his championship crown.

“It’s been a testing year, but we’ve got it all together … it’s amazing to have won the title.

“We have had lots of curveballs thrown at us this season, but we’ve just kept it together and it’s been a very hectic year – but we have come together as a team.

“No doubt, the old man was watching over us.”

They then capped off a consistently dominant AORC return with a victory in the final, as his brother tried but couldn’t cause an upset, whilst state and AORC competitor Shane Elphinstone finished third outright.

The event was also shortened after motorbike rider and 59-year-old Lance Fraser tragically lost his life on Day 1.

With only 121km to decide the winner in the WA classic, Travis topped his brother by just under two minutes.

The 2024 season gets underway in NSW this time around, with the Pooncarie Desert Dash set for April 19-21. 

AORC STANDINGS 

T. Robinson (Pro Buggy) 472

Brandle (Prolite) 217    

B. Robinson (Extreme 2WD) 199

Horan (Pro Buggy) 196

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