KTM Enduro Racing Team's Daniel Milner and Lyndon Snodgrass will take on Hattah Desert Race this weekend, targeting a fifth-consecutive outright victory for the Austrian brand.
Fresh from dominating last month’s Finke Desert Race, KTM is carrying high hopes into Hattah with Australian Off-Road Championship contenders Milner and Snodgrass, both armed with powerful and race-proven KTM 500 EXC-F machinery.
Last year at Hattah saw Milner claim a convincing win in his first appearance with KTM, charging to victory in the four-hour affair and successfully managing his Type 1 diabetes in a special result for the 26-year-old Victorian. Joining him on the all-KTM podium one year ago in third position was Snodgrass, aiming to improve further upon the result this time out.
The Hattah Desert Race is renowned as one of the most gruelling on the national dirtbike calendar, with lap-times near 30 minutes in length and the race spanning eight full laps. The all-important Prologue qualifying session will take place on Saturday, before the main event on Sunday from 9:00am local time.
Fans will be able to meet the KTM Enduro Racing Team of Milner and Snodgrass in a rider signing event this Thursday evening, 5 July, between 4:00-7:00pm at MotoTech Mildura (34 Seventh Street, East Mildura, VIC 3500).
Glenn Kearney – Motorsport Manager, KTM Australia: “We’re only a few days out from Hattah now and everything is on track for us. We use the same base package from Finke, so the engine’s proven from there and we’ve had the team in Mildura setting up, testing for the event. The bikes are ready, the riders have been putting in plenty of effort down there in the sand, because it’s such a challenging race down there at Hattah. We’ve got a very good line-up with Daniel and Lyndon, who went 1-3 last year, so we’re looking to defend the title and our podium finishes. It is a big undertaking by the whole team, there are a lot of fuel stops and we have a lot of personnel on track, so it’s a competitive race that’s really tough with over 500 competitors racing.”
Daniel Milner – KTM 500 EXC-F: “Last year, since I hadn’t done Hattah for so long, it was a hard race and it’s good to know what I’m up against this time around. It’s helped me out a lot more, getting the right bike set-up and everything is falling into place really nicely for us at the moment. I know what I have to do to get out there and get on the top step of the podium. It is such an important race to win and it is a really big achievement for me, especially with Type 1 diabetes – it tests me as a rider on the track and also with my diabetes. If I can win again that would be unreal, so we will give it 110 percent and see what happens on Sunday!”
Lyndon Snodgrass – KTM 500 EXC-F: “I’m really keen for this weekend and it’s been a big lead-up for us, with a really solid few weeks coming in. Finishing third last year was pretty awesome to stand on the podium, so I’m looking forward to trying to improve upon that. The biggest challenge at Hattah is that it’s four hours long, so you have to keep up the pace the whole way and not get tired. At the same time, with so many riders on the track together, you have to make sure you get through cleanly and stay consistent.”
Photo: Wilkinson Photography