This weekend marks the official commencement of the 2025 BFGoodrich Motorsport Australia Off Road Championship, kicking off with the Wentworth Shire Pooncarie Desert Dash.
A diverse lineup of 55 vehicles, including cars and buggies, will make their way to the 105.5km track situated in the remote south-western region of New South Wales for the inaugural event in the 2025 title race.
However, two prominent teams will be absent from this event.
The reigning AORC champions, Mel and Liam Brandle, will not be participating in the Pooncarie event. Instead, they have chosen to focus on their preparations for an expected challenge at the Finke Desert Race in June.
The father-son duo from South Australia clinched the 2024 AORC title with their Prolite vehicle. Following last season, Mel Brandle sold the victorious machine and acquired a Pro Buggy for this year’s competition.
Brandle has confirmed that their new vehicle isn’t fully race-ready, leading to their decision to forgo the Pooncarie event.
In a further unexpected turn, the 2024 SXS champions, James and Michael Mogford, will also miss the Pooncarie event.
Nonetheless, the Pooncarie Desert Dash will showcase a competitive field eager to make their mark in the 2025 championship. Leading contenders include 2024 AORC runner-up Beau Robinson and his brother, 2023 AORC champion Travis Robinson.
This season, Beau Robinson will once again compete in the Extreme 2WD class alongside navigator Shane Hutt, while Travis Robinson teams up with Andrew Pinto in their Pro Buggy.
The Trophy Trucks category promises to be fiercely contested at Pooncarie, with key competitors including Boston Morgan-Horan, Brett Comiskey, Nicholas Commins, and Andrew Commins.
In the Pro Buggy division, Travis Robinson will have to contend with strong contenders such as Nick Hicks and Jared Percival.
In the SXS Championship, Glenn Ackroyd is keen to build on his momentum in 2025 after clinching the final Kalgoorlie leg of the 2024 championship, narrowly missing the title to James Mogford.
With the Mogfords not participating in the Pooncarie event, Ackroyd has a prime opportunity to enhance his title pursuit.
Moreover, in the Production Class showdown, Geoff Pickering (Ford Raptor) and Norman Parker (Toyota LandCruiser 76 Series) will square off again.
All the excitement in Pooncarie, located approximately an hour north of Mildura, will kick off on Friday with scrutineering and a Show and Shine event along the main straight.
The event organisers have made alterations for 2025, having reversed the racing course and amended the entry and exit points for the pits.
The Pooncarie Desert Dash will officially commence on Saturday with a 9.5km Prologue to set the starting order, followed by three laps of the complete 105.5km circuit.
Section One is scheduled for Saturday, while Section Two will take place on Sunday, with a total distance of 441km to be covered.
Section Two includes two continuous laps of the circuit, a 45-minute service break, followed by a final lap.
The first vehicles will take to the track on Saturday morning, with the Prologue starting from 11am AEDT.
| Number | Class | State | Driver | Co-Driver/Navigator |
| 2 | PRO Buggy | WA | Jared Percival | Matthew Gallasch |
| 3 | SXS Pro | NSW | Glen Ackroyd | Michael Price |
| 4 | PRO Buggy | VIC | Daniel Brown | George Apted |
| 5 | PRO Buggy | VIC | Dale Martin | Adrian Rowe |
| 7 | PRO Buggy | VIC | Matthew Hanson | Nigel Pendlebury |
| 13 | PRO Buggy | WA | Travis Robinson | Paul Currie |
| 15 | PRO Buggy | NSW | Joshua Howells | Shaun Harris |
| 45 | PRO Buggy | VIC | Andrew Brown | Daniel Hardman |
| 47 | PRO Buggy | VIC | Joshua Ferguson | Jordan Anderson |
| 48 | PRO Buggy | QLD | Thomas Swinglehurst | Kate Swinglehurst |
| 61 | PRO Buggy | QLD | Cooper Western | Benjamin Boland |
| 69 | PRO Buggy | SA | Benjamin McManara | Wayne Pascoe |
| 73 | PRO Buggy | NSW | Joshua Wilson | Darcy Gordon |
| 85 | PRO Buggy | SA | Nicholas Hicks | Christian Macintosh |
| 93 | PRO Buggy | NSW | Aaron James | Tanner James |
| 115 | Prolite | NSW | Alexandra Howells | Sarah Corrigan |
| 127 | Prolite | NSW | John Towers | Bruce Young |
| 153 | Prolite | VIC | Alan Dixon | Kris Boyle |
| 210 | Super1650 | SA | Brad Geraghty | Patrick Geraghty |
| 242 | Super1650 | NT | Leah Driver | Wayne Driver |
| 255 | Super1650 | VIC | Tyler Owen | Max Owen |
| 410 | Extreme2WD | SA | Gregory Gartner | Cary Jennings |
| 413 | Extreme2WD | WA | Beau Robinson | Shane Hutt |
| 418 | Extreme2WD | SA | Hannah Bentley | Cooper Johns |
| 432 | Extreme2WD | SA | Nicolas Burt | Alex Burt |
| 434 | Extreme2WD | QLD | Brett Comiskey | Corey Cooper |
| 450 | Extreme2WD | QLD | Keith Hurst | Robert Stidham |
| 467 | Extreme2WD | NSW | Andrew Commins | Anthony Cook |
| 479 | Extreme2WD | NSW | Nicholas Commins | Ryan Galvin |
| 482 | Extreme2WD | VIC | Michael Magher | Bernie Webb |
| 486 | Extreme2WD | NSW | Michael Dolan | Pete Morris |
| 489 | Extreme2WD | NZ | Boston Morgan | Horan Will Haddock |
| 609 | SXS Pro | VIC | Glen Hough | Gavin Grant |
| 621 | SXS Pro | SA | Jodie Whateley | Cindy Carthew |
| 622 | SXS Pro | SA | Lachlan Bailey | Nathan Sracek |
| 626 | SXS Pro | NT | Daniel Challen | Kylie Dennis |
| 629 | SXS Pro | VIC | Jason Marks | Andrew Forbes |
| 639 | SXS Pro | QLD | Jamie Harrison | Steven Walton |
| 651 | SXS Pro | NSW | Gregory Campbell | Tori Campbell |
| 653 | SXS Pro | NSW | Troy Behsman | Dylan Behsman |
| 655 | SXS Pro | QLD | Robert Knight | Matthew Leonard |
| 669 | SXS Pro | QLD | Shaun Dagan | Jack Rosevear |
| 678 | SXS Pro | NSW | Paul Godde | Kate Godde |
| 682 | SXS Pro | NSW | Ryan Brook | Lachlan Tresidder |
| 1018 | SportsLite | SA | Sam Bentley | Jay Mitchell |
| 1070 | SportsLite | NSW | David Mendham | Adam Barnacoat |
| 6121 | SXS Pro | SA | Toby Whateley | Simon Herrmann |
| 6138 | SXS Pro | NSW | Jack Livingstone | Miguel Ilardi |
| 6149 | SXS Pro | WA | Kyle Reid | Jai Barker |
| 6182 | SXS Pro | NSW | Scott Dunn | David Strong |
| 6183 | SXS Pro | NSW | Keith McReynolds | Harrison Day |
Compiled by SportArena.com.au.
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