AUSTRALIA’S fastest off-road motorcycle racers will converge in the Shoalhaven this weekend for the bumper finale of what has been a historic year-in-the-making of Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championship (AORC) racing.

The Nowra Motorcycle Club’s Yerriyong Complex, just west of HMAS Albatross will host the event.

Never before have so many riders been in close contention for the championship crown coming into the final two rounds – a mere 31 points separate the top four from winning the glory of the coveted number one plate.

Yamaha’s Chris Hollis, from Port Macquarie (NSW) is in the lead by 15 points over Victorian Peter Boyle.

If Hollis wins it will be the first time the championship has been taken by a rider from NSW – the past three years in a row it has been won by a Queenslander.

“I’ve got a pretty comfy buffer going into the [final rounds]… I just have to ride smart this weekend and hopefully I’ll wrap up this championship,” Hollis said.

Some local riders who are keen to race the Nowra circuit are father son duo Lyndon and Jack Heffernan from Kiama.

Heffernan – who is a legend of the sport after winning several Australian championships – now manages the Hog’s Breath Yamaha Academy Young Guns Team, among other pursuits in the industry.

Four members of Heffernan’s team will be contesting the event, as well as a top Kiwi racer who will be travelling from New Zealand to race – Heffernan will be lending him a Yamaha so he can compete.

“Nowra is a new venue for the AORC and I think it will be a really good one,” Heffernan said.

“I was at the track at Nowra on the weekend and conditions are really good. They’ve had lots of rain. The track includes mixed terrain, there’s a bit of sand, some hard packed and gravel.

“Racing at Nowra should be fantastic, we’re looking forward to it.”

The Young Gun’s leading off-road racer, Luka Bussa (from Moruya), will be looking to wrap up a top-five placing in one of the championship’s hotly contested premier classes, Enduro 1.

Bussa has a busy few weeks ahead of him, the 18-year-old will be flying to Greece on Sunday as part Team Australia to contest this year’s ‘Olympics of Motorcycling’ – the extremely gruelling and prestigious International Six Day Enduro.