Hattah Desert Race

Toby Price won his maiden title as the KTM Off Road Team took out the first five places in a stunning clean sweep of the Hattah Desert Race on Sunday.

Price, who was competing at Hattah for the first time, was the stand-out rider of the day to win in a time of 3:46.23, more than four and a half minutes ahead of team mate and defending champion Ben Grabham.

Toby Price
“I got off to a pretty good start, but not knowing the track in my first lap was hard,” said Price. “I missed a few corners on the first lap and had some battles with Warren Smart, where he would catch me and then I would pull away, but then I think he ran out of petrol, so once he was out of the picture, I was just focused on holding my lead, and making sure the bike got home all the way to the finish line.

“This was my first time at Hattah, so I’m obviously stoked to take a win for myself and another win for KTM. I am really liking desert racing. “There is high speed in off-road enduro style racing between the trees, but it doesn’t compare to Hattah and its big straights, and then Finke which I also recently won, is completely different again. To get a good result at Finke and to now win Hattah is an awesome feeling.

Brad Williscroft and team mates Jarrod Bewley and Todd Smith rounded out the top five on a great day for the KTM team, but it was a different story for local champion Warren Smart who failed to finish the race after running out of fuel on the track just two laps into the race.

Ben Grabham
“I’m stoked to be on the podium with all my Motorex KTM Off-Road Racing Team mates,” said Grabham. “My second place was a tough slog but an enjoyable one.

“I had a really good run starting in 4th position, moving into 3rd quickly. Then two other riders had mishaps, and I was in 2nd, with a trouble free run to the finish.

“I knew I couldn’t close on Toby once he had a gap, so I just concentrated on having a clean ride. The bike handled the conditions really well and it was reliable throughout the entire race. After not finishing Finke with mechanical challenges, it was satisfying to ride home across the finish line at Hattah and also get on the podium.”

A record field of almost 450 riders competed in this year’s race, completing eight laps of the gruelling 35km course through sand, dirt and dense Mallee scrub.