The title fight for the 2024 BFGoodrich Motorsport Australia Off Road Championship (AORC) heats up in Western Australia this weekend with the Black Diamond Drilling Kalgoorlie Desert Race.

The fifth and final round of the 2024 AORC season, Kalgoorlie plays host to 95 car competitors this year, with more than 350 kilometres standing between them and victory across two days of racing.

With Friday’s prologue deciding the official running order, teams will do battle over three laps of the challenging multi-terrain 121-kilometre Kalgoorlie course across Saturday and Sunday.

Watch the highlights from the previous round, the Markwell Group City 450, streaming for free on-demand on 7plus.

Fresh from their victory at the Markwell Group Gold City 450 event in August, South Australian father-and-son duo Mel and Liam Brandle currently lead the outright AORC driver and navigator standings.

Hot on the heels of the Pro Lite crew are West Australian driver Beau Robinson and navigator Shane Hutt, 216 points adrift.

Robinson and Hutt return home to Kalgoorlie in their Trophy Truck after relinquishing the championship lead at the previous Gold City round with a DNF. However, Robinson is a former winner of the WA event and boasts a wealth of local knowledge.

As an extra incentive for all teams in this year’s title race, ‘points and a half’ are on offer for crews – with 900 points on offer for the round winner in both the AORC and SXS Championships.

Defending AORC champion Travis Robinson returns to the fold this weekend after missing the Gold City event. He will be keen to pick up where he left off in WA, having won the 2023 edition of the Kalgoorlie Desert Race.

Also returning to the AORC field this weekend are James Cook and Mitch Aucote, who will debut a new Pro Buggy at the West Australian round. Cook and Aucote at one point led the AORC outright standings earlier this year after securing third in the famous Tatts Finke Desert Race.

A separate battle is heating up Transportable Shade Sheds SXS Championship, where Queenslanders James Mogford and Michael Mogford hold a 192-point lead over Glenn Brinkman.

It is the fifth consecutive Kalgoorlie appearance for James and Michael, who also sit third outright in the AORC title standings.

Further back in the SXS championship, Glen Ackroyd and Michael Price will be looking to mount another podium challenge in Kalgoorlie.

They will have their work cut out, with dozens of West Aussie racers looking to apply local knowledge on the gruelling Kalgoorlie course. In addition to the national event, Kalgoorlie plays host to the final round of the Western Australian Offroad Racing Championship.

Missing from this weekend’s entry list are Roydn Bailey and Simon Herrmann, who currently hold a top 10 spot in the championship.

One of the biggest events on the 2024 AORC calendar, the Kalgoorlie field of 95 cars will share the spotlight with 135 bikes, with each discipline having contrasting weekend formats.

Both the cars and bikes were on display during Thursday’s traditional Street Party and Scrutineering at the Ray Finlayson Sporting Complex.

Prologue for the cars begins at 2pm AWST on Friday.

On Saturday, the AORC’s first section will take place between at 10:10am AWST and in between the bikes’ first and second sections, before the remaining two sections are run on Sunday at 7am and 1:20pm AWST.

Fans can follow the event section by section via the AORC results page and social media channels.

Watch the highlights from the previous round, the Markwell Group City 450, streaming for free on-demand on 7plus.

The 2024 Black Diamond Drilling Kalgoorlie Desert Race takes place in Kalgoorlie on 24-28 October.

Kalgoorlie Desert Race Timetable

Friday 25 October:
10:00am Bike Prologue
2:00pm Car Prologue
6:40pm Dash for Cash (Under lights, at the track)

Saturday 26 October:
7:00am Bikes Lap 1 - 121km
10:10am Cars Lap 1 - 121km
1:20pm Bikes Lap 2 - 121km

Sunday 27 October:
7:00am Cars Lap 2 - 121km
10:10am Bikes Lap 3 - 121km
1:20pm Cars Lap 3 - 121km

*All times in AWST