2018 Hattah Desert Race: Results

Husqvarna Enduro Racing Team’s Daniel Sanders has taken a dominant victory at the 2018 Hattah Desert Race, leading Saturday’s Top 10 Shootout and going on to give Husqvarna their first-ever outright Hattah winner on Sunday – a massive success for Husqvarna to be able to break KTM’s four-year winning streak in the Victorian sand.
Following on the heals on Sanders was Yamaha’s, J0sh Green, claiming second overal (his best result since winning the Overall back in 2013) and KTM’s Lyndon Snodgrass trailing behind in third, rounding off the podium.
What happend to the Overall favourite of last years winner Daniel Milner? Well, after suffering a mechanical issue – pushing him back to 12th place – KTM’s Daniel Milner fought his way through the pack in the dusty conditions to cross the line in fourth place Overall.
For more, here is the offical news from Husqvarna Australia…

Awesome to grab the top spot in todays @officialhattah prologue 👌🏼 Some fast competition here and I’m pumped to go racing tomorrow! 🎥 @jdenglish . . . @husqvarna_motorcycles_aus @foxracingaustralia @simford1800racing @pod_active @shotznutrition

A post shared by Daniel "Chucky" Sanders (@danielsanders_11) on Jul 7, 2018 at 12:53am PDT

Daniel Sanders, who had finished runner-up for the past two years running, lodged a flying 2m36.256s lap-time of the Prologue course in qualifying to seal the pole position, which set the scene for what was to come on race-day near Mildura, Victoria.
With a fastest lap of 29m 31.044s, Sanders rode to an advantage of 1m 06.175s at the conclusion of eight laps in a total time of 4h 15m 22.802s. It was a brilliant performance that enabled him to cruise home on the final lap to the outright and Over 450cc class victories in the dry and dusty conditions.
Husqvarna Enduro Racing Team newcomer Fraser Higlett also had a impressive ride, capturing a third in the 450cc-class. That handed the Queenslander eighth overall, with a total time of 4h 28m 39.848s, which was a massive improvement on his qualifying position of 19th.

Christian Horwood: Team Manager, Husqvarna Enduro Racing Team “We’re absolutely over the moon to get the outright win at Hattah. ‘Chucky’ has put a mammoth effort leading up to this event and the whole team’s worked really hard, so it’s a big reward to get our first win – the Husqvarna FE 501s didn’t miss a beat. It was dominant ride for Daniel, controlling the race from the front, so we are of course really happy with the result. Fraser was also very impressive, making his way from 19th all the way to sixth by lap four, but then he had an issue in the pits. He ended up eventually finishing eighth, which was third in the 450 class, so we’re wrapt with the results from each of them and thank all of our supporters who were involved.”

Daniel Sanders: “To qualify quickest was definitely positive and it was a gnarly race, one that was awesome to lead from start to finish for the win. The plan was to throw the hammer down straight away, to try pull a gap and maintain it, which we were able to do in the end. It was really dry and dusty, a hard race, but I just stayed focused and got the job done. I couldn’t thank the guys at the Husqvarna Enduro Racing Team enough for their efforts and it’s been a real team effort that has led to this result, so we’re really happy to get this victory together.”

Fraser Higlett: “To finish eighth overall was a good finish for me and to be third in class was an even better result. It definitely wasn’t an easy race in the dry conditions, but the Husqvarna Enduro Racing Team did everything they could to support me and I am really thankful for that work they put in and the bike they built for me to race. I had to push hard all the way to the end, so I was happy to finish inside the top 10 after a problem in the pits and now I’m already looking forward to coming back and racing again next year.”

2018 Hattah Outright Results

1. Daniel Sanders (Husqvarna) 4h 15m 22.802s
2. Josh Green (Yamaha) 4h 16m 28.977s
3. Lyndon Snodgrass (KTM) 4h 19m 29.308s
4. Daniel Milner (KTM) 4h 23m 10.579s
5. Nathan Trigg (Sherco) 4h 24m 18.387s
8. Fraser Higlett (Husqvarna) 4h 28m 39.848s