Boston Morgan-Horan and navigator Fergus Crabb have emerged the pairing to beat at the 2024 Black Diamond Drilling Kalgoorlie Desert Race, after obliterating the field on day one’s opening section.

The Kiwi driver finished Saturday 53 seconds ahead of second-placed Beau Robinson and Shane Hutt in a dominant display aboard his Extreme 2WD Trophy Truck, with a time of 1:08.05.2.

Robinson and Hutt finished with a time of 1:08.58.2 to seal second ahead of brother, and 2023 AORC Champions, Travis Robinson and navigator Andrew Pinto in third, 31 seconds further back.

Meanwhile, current BFGoodrich Motorsport Australia Off Road Championship (AORC) title leader Mel Brandle and Liam Brandle came home fourth in their Prolite machine, with a time of 1:10:11.4.

With a ‘points and a half’ scoring system in place at Kalgoorlie, both teams remain firmly in the championship hunt ahead of Sections two and three, to be held on Sunday morning and Sunday afternoon respectively.

“We were trying to manage the race as best as we could, but we probably should have got more of a move-on in the early stages,” Robinson said of Saturday’s result.

“Boston had a clean run and snuck up on us unfortunately. It’s a stuff-up on our behalf but it is what it is.”

According to Brandle, Saturday’s result keeps him in a strong championship position against the faster Trophy Trucks and Pro Buggy entrants.

“To be in amongst the top level of guys here today, we’re stoked,” Brandle said.

“We went out there and more-or-less just do what we do. It’s a little bit unrealistic to think that we’re going to compete with Trophy Trucks and Pro Buggies in a Pro Lite, but we’re happy that we’re amongst it.

“We’ll sit down and assess things tonight, and see where we’re at.”

Starting from fifth on Saturday morning, Morgan-Horan and Crabb were gifted a golden opportunity on the start line when fourth-placed Stephen Ketteridge-Hall and Haylee Cowling ahead of them were forced to abort their run due to a throttle problem. The mechanical issue meant Morgan-Horan and Crabb had a two-minute buffer to the car in front rather than one minute, minimising dust.

“It’s a pleasant surprise to come back and learn that you’re on top for day one,” Morgan-Horan said.

“The track was good, it was unpredictable and slidey in places, but other than that dry and sandy. The start definitely gave me more clear air, which was good.”

Jared Percival and Joshua Howat rounded out the top five outright in the opening Section aboard their Pro Buggy.

In the Transportable Shade Sheds SXS Championship, Glenn Ackroyd continued his strong run at Kalgoorlie, finishing the day first in class and ninth outright, 25 seconds ahead of Tony Whateley (second in class and 10th outright).

Ackroyd, who sat third in the SXS championship standings heading into Kalgoorlie, behind James Mogford and Michael Mogford and Glenn Brinkman and Jacci Hughes, edges closer to the front in the title standings with two sections remaining on Sunday.

“We had a dust-free run and we can’t complain, it was really good,” said Ackroyd.

“It was a smooth run, the car was good and we were cruising along."

James and Michael Mogford came home third in the SXS class on Saturday, and 13th outright. Brinkman and Hughes finished the day eighth in class and 25th outright.

Meanwhile, it was a day to forget for James Cook and navigator Mitch Aucote, who return to the AORC this weekend aboard a heavily revised Pro Buggy. After being disadvantaged by an afternoon storm during the middle of his Prologue on Friday, Cook endured electrical issues midway through his run on Saturday, eventually aborting Section One.

After the first section of action, the following crews lead the way in their respective classes:
Pro Buggy: Travis Robinson and Andrew Pinto
Prolite: Mel Brandle and Liam Brandle
Super 1650: Brad Geraghty and Nina Kells
Extreme 2WD: Boston Morgan-Horan and Fergus Crabb
Performance 2WD: Michael Shipton and Simon Herrmann/Paul Chorlton
SXS Pro: Glen Ackroyd and Michael Price
SXS Sport: Rob Clarke and Paul Tavani
Extreme 4WD: Aaron Cassidy and Adam Lanigan

View the full results here.

The Kalgoorlie event continues on Sunday with cars entering their second 121km section from 6:40am AWST, followed by the third bikes section at 10:10am and finally the third cars section at 1:20pm.

Fans can follow the event section by section via the AORC Live Wall and social channels, or track the cars via Rallysafe.

The Black Diamond Drilling Kalgoorlie Desert Race takes place in Kalgoorlie on 24-27 October.

Kalgoorlie Desert Race timetable

Sunday 27 October:
6:40am Cars Lap 2 - 121km
10:10am Bikes Lap 3 - 121km
01:20pm Cars Lap 3 - 121km

*All times in AWST