Dale Martin has successfully claimed back-to-back victories at the Wentworth Shire Pooncarie Desert Dash, emerging victorious once again in 2025 alongside new navigator Adrian Rowe.

The Victorian pairing prevailed in thick dust and a fast-degrading track on Sunday to emerge leaders at the end of round one of the BFGoodrich Motorsport Australia Off Road Championship (AORC).

Martin and Rowe began the day in third place after a strong first section on Saturday, holding it together for the three-lap Section Two.

Running a close second place after more than 400km worth of racing in Pooncarie was the Pro Buggy entry of Danny Brown and George Apted, who were 2 minutes 25 seconds behind.

In third place outright was Travis Robinson and Paul Currie. The pair overcame electrical gremlins that held them back for much of the weekend to bag a good amount of AORC Championship points.

“It’s a great result for us and something we’re very proud of,” Martin said.

“Our plan all day was to keep the car on the track, because the tram tracks got deeper and as it developed the tree roots and rocks really began to emerge.

“You can’t relax, you’ve got guys coming for you. So we folded the mirrors out and off we went. We didn’t back off.”

Martin was the big benefactor on the opening laps of Section Two, when overnight leader Boston Morgan-Horan and second-placed Beau Robinson both succumbed to separate issues.

A crash into a gate abruptly ended Morgan-Horan’s race, while electrical issues created headaches for Beau Robinson and navigator Shane Hutt, who were considered front runners all weekend.

By contrast, the #5 pairing of Martin and Rowe emerged with barely a mark on their car, the pair typifying the off road analogy of ‘allowing the race to come to them’.

Further down the order, Pooncarie was a happy hunting ground for Joshua Ferguson, Joshua Wilson and Jared Percival, who took out fourth, fifth, and sixth place outright respectively.

The consistent duo of Alexandra Howells and Sarah Corrigan also clinched the Prolite win with a credible seventh outright, and the first women across the line, with a strong showing across the weekend.

Arguably, the biggest rivalry of the opening Pooncarie weekend played out in the SXS Championship, with a simmering back-and-forth battle between Glen Ackroyd and Lachlan Bailey.

Ackroyd and Bailey traded blows on track all weekend; Bailey fastest in Prologue and Section One, while Ackroyd came home strongest in Section Two.

After more than four hours of racing, it was Ackroyd and navigator Michael Price who emerged with the class victory – by a mere 15 seconds. The pairing secured 11th place overall.

“We had a really good weekend with the car and I had a lot of fun personally,” Bailey said.

“The first two laps we weren’t sure if we’d make it all the way round with fuel, so we had to be smart and that meant Glen got a minute on us during that time.

“We let it hang out in the last lap and got about 30 seconds back on Glen, but it wasn’t quite enough.”

The battle between Bailey and Ackroyd is set to continue in the next four rounds of the AORC, and will only intensify as Bailey becomes more accustomed to his new Maverick R machine.

“The car is everything I could have wished for and more,” Bailey explained.

“I’m having a lot of fun in it. I’ll pay a bit more attention to prep for Finke, especially with suspension.”

AORC competitors will now begin preparations for the second round of the five-stop title, the iconic Tatts Finke Desert Race.

The 49^th annual Tatts Finke Desert Race will occupy its traditional slot on the King’s Birthday Weekend, held on 6-9 June 2025.

After the final day of action, the following crews win in their respective classes:
Pro Buggy: Dale Martin and Adrian Rowe
Prolite: Ally Howells and Sarah Corrigan
Super 1650: Tyler Owen and Max Owen
Sportslite: Sam Bentley and Jay Mitchell
Extreme 2WD: Nicholas Commins and Ryan Galvin
Production 4WD: Norman Parker and Tyson Parker
SXS Pro: Glen Ackroyd and Michael Price

View the full results here.