Womens Development Riders team at Port Mac

Image Australian Women’s Enduro Development riders kicked of their 2009 season at Port Maquarie.

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Yamaha-backed Australian Women’s Enduro Development (AWED) riders kicked off the year with strong performances in the opening two rounds of the 2009 Yamaha Australian Off Road Championships (AORC) in the NSW coastal town of Port Macquarie on the weekend.

Defending champion, Alison Parker, made the perfect start to the year by winning the Championship Women’s class on both days. Round One, a two hour cross country, was a tough race where the women competed amongst a field of 83 Clubman and Championship Masters riders.

"The cross country was amazing, there were riders everywhere. Dirt Bike Promotions made a great track which provided many passing opportunities, enabling all riders the chance to ride their own race," Parker said, after her two minute win to Yamaha QLD rider, Jemma Wilson.

Round Two proved to be a close battle in the sprint format, where Parker completed six heats just 1.3 seconds ahead of Wilson. "Today was closer than I am used to. Jemma really kept me on my toes. I am glad I was able to hold onto the win, and I look forward to some great racing this year," confessed Parker.

AWED young gun and Port Macquarie local, Jacqui Jones, asserted herself as a title contender by finishing third on both days. "The racing this weekend was brilliant. We had a lot of rain in recent weeks, making conditions perfect. This is the first year that I will be competing in the entire series, and I am very pleased with riding my WR250F to two podium finishes," stated Jones.

Enduro specialist and AWED team manager, Jacqui Beattie, showed her stamina and consistency by finishing fourth in Saturday’s cross country, and rounding out the top five on Sunday. "It was fantastic to see so many female riders this weekend. We were one of the largest classes here. I hope we see similar numbers at each of the AORC rounds, as well as the Australian Four Day Enduro (A4DE) next month," Beattie said.

AORC first-timer, Western Australian Dimity Duke, achieved her goals by finishing the weekend with 6th and 7th places.

AWED would like to thank Yamaha, Suspension Matters, Fox, Barkbusters, Scott, Unifilter and Nine Two Decals for their support. AWED coaches are holding a women-only riding school on Saturday 14th March at Motocross Mountain in QLD. Please direct enquiries to awed@live.com.au.

The next race for AWED will be the A4DE in Orange, NSW, on 16-19th April 2009.

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