Walkinshaw Performance / Australian Off Road Championship Photos

2022 Production 4WD Champions

Australian Off Road Championship (AORC)

In late 2021 the Walkinshaw Performance team embarked on a challenge to put two vehicles in the Australian Off-Road Championship (AORC). The road to AORC was new to the Walkinshaw Group which meant a mountain of work, day and night, to get two cars built and to the starting lines. It was a mammoth effort from everyone.

The two vehicles were entered in separate classes. Vehicle 525 in Class 5 Performance 2WD with the GM Colorado and Vehicle 725 in Class 7 Production 4WD VW Amarok W580X.

We went right around the country this year, into some incredibly remote locations. The team rolled out the swags, camped, and were fully self-sufficient at some of the rounds – another huge logistical effort.

The results placed the Amarok as the class winner 1st for Production 4WD (Class 7) with the Colorado finishing in a potential 3rd in class.

To undertake this new challenge, which had plenty of speed humps and come away with a championship win and some incredible results, to the credit of everyone involved.

The dedication and commitment from the entire Walkinshaw Performance company has proven that we are a serious off-road performance brand, with products that are engineered to the highest standards and tested in the toughest fields.

Again, a massive thank you from the entire Walkinshaw Group to all our sponsors and to the competitors & enthusiasts we met along the way. We really appreciate our customers and followers, your support is invaluable, and we look forward to whatever adventures the future brings.

Series Results

Round	Date	Event	State	Result
1	Mar 18-20	Cobb & Co Hotel St. George 399	QLD	Amarok: 2nd in Class
2	May 06-08	Pooncarie Desert Dash	NSW	Amarok: N/A Colorado: Mechanical Failure
3	Jun 11-13	Tatts Finke Desert Race	NT	Amarok: DNF
4	Jul 30-31	Can-Am Loveday 400	SA	Amarok: 1st in Class Colorado: 2nd in Class
5	Sep 02-04	Hindmarsh Shire Rainbow Desert Enduro	VIC	Event Cancelled
6	Oct 20-23	Black Diamond Drilling Kalgoorlie Desert Race	WA	Amarok: 2nd in Class
	2022 Production 4WD Champions

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About Walkinshaw Performance & the 2022 AORC

As a company with a heritage of performance and on-road race excellence, we are now embarking on a new off-road journey. Walkinshaw Performance are proud first-time competitors in the 2022 Australian Off Road Championship (AORC). This event is a national off-road competition that has been running for 41 years and comprises of 6 events between March and November 2022. These are all defined as ‘long course’ events that are conducted on a track of no less than 15 kilometres in length. The courses and tracks used for the AORC are often narrow, twisting, tree-lined tracks, undulating farmland tracks, mountain tracks and river crossings, sometimes incorporating man-made jumps and other obstacles.

Walkinshaw Performance is excited to further develop our practical 4WD knowledge and showcase our engineering prowess in this exhilarating competition. We’ve worked day and night to prepare our vehicles for a variety of off-road conditions, including mud, dust, rubble and water. Our engineering team, led by David Kermond, are all exceptionally experienced and knowledgeable in their fields, but preparing our vehicles for this competition has been a very challenging experience, and certainly new territory for the entire team.

We gratefully acknowledge our fantastic range of sponsors for their incredible support and input throughout this competition, most especially their unbounded enthusiasm, wisdom, and practical assistance during the preparation stages. We heartily recommend these businesses to you, having had excellent first-hand experience with them.

Warren Luff

Production 4WD / Volkswagen Amarok W580X

Warren Luff is a long-time crowd favourite and synonymous with all things motorsport. Outside of his impressive professional V8 Supercar race driver career, his passions are still firmly based in behind-the-wheel activities. He is currently a stunt driver at Movie World on the Gold Coast, a driver coach with McElrea Racing, and a high-performance vehicle test driver and track tester for Motor Magazine. Of course, he is most renowned for his incredible V8 Supercar skills and accomplishments. He has stood on the Bathurst podium a stunning 6 times in his career and is the only driver to have won the PIRTEK Enduro cup twice. Warren holds a special place in the hearts of Walkinshaw Group and has been a co-driver for our race team since 2014 and continues to be a popular star of the Walkinshaw Andretti United team in 2022.

In 2021, Bruce Stewart, WAU’s Team Principal, casually mentioned to Warren that Walkinshaw Performance were working on an AORC entry and Warren immediately responded with “whatever they’re doing I want in!”. The lure of the infamous Finke rally and the opportunity to expand his repertoire into the off-road arena was all it took to get Warren on board, and we are WP are overjoyed to have him.

Co-Driver

Ricc Pontonio

David Kermond

2WD Performance / GM ZR2 Colorado

David Kermond has worked for the Walkinshaw Group since 2016, initially as a Race Engineer and currently as a Managing Engineer for Walkinshaw Performance. Responsible for product engineering, development and testing, David heads a passionate team of motor vehicle obsessed mechanics and engineers. Described by his colleagues as “an all-round top bloke” this highly respected engineer lives and breathes motorsport.

David started karting as a 12-year-old which led him into Tin Top Racing and Tarmac Rallies. Over the years he has successfully competed in both State and National championships. He has tried his hand in many competitions and types of vehicles, including motorbikes, and is currently a licensed competitor in the Tin Top Races. David relishes the opportunity to experience, build, drive and compete in as many diverse fields as possible, thriving on the challenge of mastery. WP is proud to support David’s long-standing dream to compete in the AORC.

Co-Driver

James Ackerley

2022 BFGoodrich Motorsport Australia Off Road Championship Schedule

Round	Date	Event	State
1	Mar 18-20	Cobb & Co Hotel St. George 399	QLD
2	May 06-08	Pooncarie Desert Dash	NSW
3	Jun 11-13	Tatts Finke Desert Race	NT
4	Jul 30-31	Can-Am Loveday 400	SA
5	Sep 02-04	Hindmarsh Shire Rainbow Desert Enduro	VIC
6	Oct 20-23	Black Diamond Drilling Kalgoorlie Desert Race	WA

These courses are designed to put the vehicles and the drivers to the test! Expect thrills and spills, as unexpected obstacles, conditions and vehicle damages are combatted by drivers, navigators and engineers in a united team effort to reign machine over nature.

You can see the action on Channel 7 Sports, 7plus and 7 Mate. Full competition information is available at aorc.com.au.

Walkinshaw Performance will post updates on our social media channels and a collection of videos throughout each event.

Watch on YouTube

Visit aorc.com.au

Watch on 7plus

St George 399 Video

St George 399

Mar 18 2022

Our first ever AORC appearance was captured by Motorsport Australia. A deviation from our V8 racing background, our team were excited to experience the entirely new challenges that an off-road event would pose. Watch interviews with Warren Luff and footage from our inaugural event.

Can-Am Loveday 400

Jun 30-31 2022

Warren Luff discusses the course and his vehicle both pre and post win, while Dave Kermond explains how and why he tapped into the “Luck of the Irish”. Featuring both vehicles, this video really shows the highs, the lows and both vehicles getting air!