Grabham romps to Hattah victory

KTM's Ben Grabham has easily won his second Hattah Desert Race in three years, defeating local rider and defending champion Warren Smart (Suzuki) by over a minute in this afternoon's 280km 'sprint'.

It was a stirring contest in between the pair, who pushed each other to the limit in the first three hours before Grabham finally made a break in the final stanza of the race.

"This is obviously my year after winning Finke last month," said Grabham. "To now back up another desert race with a win at Hattah is an awesome feeling. The KTM 505 XC-F made Hattah a pretty easy ride for me, but the conditions were tough.

"I felt good in prologue where I placed second to Smart. It was obvious he was going to be the benchmark with so much local track knowledge. We banged bars consistently for the first three hours of the race, but then I found an edge, and started to make a break.

"It was great to have someone like him push me, and make it a real race."

Enduro gun and part-time motocrosser Peter Boyle (Honda) was third, 10 minutes behind Smart, followed by Brad Williscroft (KTM) and Jehi Willis on his two-stroke Husqvarna.

Tye Simmonds (KTM) was running third outright at the two-hour mark before retiring with a broken gearbox.

Another KTM rider, Ben Kearney, was eighth outright on his 250cc four-stroke, which was an excellent result against the throng of big-bore machines on the fast, open 35km circuit.

A quarter of the 230 'ironmen' (individual riders) failed to finish, and the fastest lap was set by Grabham - 25:19.933.

For full results, click here.

Pic: rabham, by Glenn Milne