KTM's Callum Norton takes the 2024 Penrite Hattah Desert Race crown on a freezing and dusty day of drama in Mildura.
It was a day that felt like hell was freezing over in Mildura for the 2024 Penrite Hattah Desert Race. The wind-chill cut to the core and the dust was thick enough to eat with a spoon. Conditions were not ideal but the battle on the track was red hot and had everyone on their toes for what was a thrilling finish to a punishing four hours of racing.
The 2024 Penrite Hattah Desert Race was a tantalizing proposition well before the race had even started. The field was stacked and at the very pointy-end of it was a bunch of savages all intent on taking out the top spot. It was a list of the who’s who of Aussie off-road racers with Lyndon Snodgrass, Gus Riordan, Jack Simpson and Sam Pretscherer returning to Hattah from their respective racing schedules in the USA and former Hattah champ Daniel Milner was back for his first Hattah after two years of racing in Europe.
Korey McMahon, Cal Norton and Corey Hammond were backing up their Finke Desert Race campaigns and local larrikin Nathan Trigg was set to show all just how tough a Mallee farmer can be on a dirt bike. Also then here was Maximus Purvis, the Kiwi kid with the killer name. He put on a hell of a show by winning the top ten shoot out on Saturday and leading the main race on Sunday for a number of laps while stopping every lap for fuel. His team simply poured fuel into the tank with jerry can and funnel giving away precious time to his competitors who ran long-range tanks with dry-break refuelers.
Jack Simpson took control of the race by the midway point and Norton had slipped back to sixth with a mechanical issue before dropping the hammer to catch Purvis and Riordan. Simpson had a 40 second lead when he stopped for fuel as he headed out for the final lap then his bike refused to start. Norton hammered through followed by Riordan before Simpson was finally able to re-start his Yamaha and give chase but the damage was done. Norton stormed home to take out one of the most exciting and drama-fueled Hattah races ever.
NO EASY WIN
Callum Norton has always been fast at Hattah but mechanical issues have hampered his potential. The big unit rides with intent and although things didn’t play out perfectly, he stayed focused and fast to pull off one of the great wins in Hattah history.
“It was bloody tough, the track was choppy and the field was strong so I had to push it the whole way and I got a bit of luck there at the end. I am spewing for Simmo but it happens, so we’ll take it. Hattah is my favorite event and I am living in Mildura now so it means a lot to me. I started racing Hattah as a junior as 12 and I won most of my way through juniors and I just loved it”.
“The race has always been massive and I looked up to Toby (Price) and Grabbo. Finke has always been a cool event and I love it but because I started racing Hattah so young, I just love it. There are so many guys that come from motocross, off-road and the desert and they all come together to try and win Hattah and to win it is pretty cool”.
“The track this year was drier than the past couple of years, lap one was really dry but as we rode through it and it cut in it got better. It was still super-whoopy but instead of big rolling sand whoops they were closer together and sharper and really choppy in places. It sounds crazy but doing Finke, which is a lot of hard-pack and a lot of chop and square edges, gave me a good idea of how to set my bike up for this year’s Hattah. Living in Mildura, the tracks I have been training on favored me a bit maybe. We were trying to predict what the race conditions would be like and we got lucky and got it spot-on”.
“The first lap is always a bit hectic but I rode smooth and had no dramas. Simmo and Purvis put a bit of time on me but I wasn’t stressed. Lap two was clean and I was in third place then lap three I caught onto the back of Purvis then I broke a StegPeg bolt”.
“I did the same thing at Finke but this time the top bolt came loose and my entire StegPeg swung down and jammed between my gear shifter and footpeg so I had to pull into the pits. My crew got the bolt out and put a new one in and I got going again. That dropped me from third back to seventh and from then on, I pushed hard. I was frustrated and I thought, stuff it just push hard to get back in it”.
“I knew I had to find something and send it until I drop. Physically it was hard and I have never pushed that hard for so long and felt that good. I got to lap six and felt good but I knew I had to finish it off strong. I was in second and then on that last lap I didn’t even know I was in the lead”. I
“I knew I had been catching Simmo but I couldn’t see him on the last lap. I thought he must have put a heater down to put time on me but then I got a pit board saying, P1 Push Hard and the last ten-minutes of that lap, I don’t think I took a breath. I knew Gus Riordan was behind me and I still needed to push”.
“Even though I got that pit board saying P1 you still just never know so it wasn’t until I went through the last turn and saw the last lap board for the dude in front of me and then the chequers, it was a pretty cool feeling. To get over the line was the biggest relief ever. It was a pretty cool feeling”.
“There was a bit of pit talk about a lot of the other riders opting to ride a 450 this year and although the 500 is a big girl, I like it. I ride it all year round so I am used to it”.
“A lot of guys like the 450 instant type of power with holding gear changes a bit longer compared to the 500 where you short-shift it a bit by comparison. This was a talking point coming into the race between riders and a bit of banter was questioning whether the 500 is the right bike for Hattah. Especially after Semmens won last year on a 450 and Chucky (Sanders) the year before. Obviously, I am used to the 500 and for me it was a no brainer.”
SIMPSON AND HIS PODIUM
Jack Simpson was on a mission from the get-go by topping the prologue to set himself up for his best shot at winning Hattah. Simpson placed second in the top ten shootout following prologue which still gave him a great starting position for the main race. Looking smooth, fast and calculated, Simpson worked his way onto the lead aboard the Shop Yamaha Off-Road Racing WR450F and looked set to claim his maiden Hattah title when the unthinkable happened.
“I nearly had the 100 percent perfect day other than some small bike issues. I lost my rear brake on the third lap and the right-side StegPeg on the fifth lap and a small hole in the radiator from a stick on lap one which I didn’t know about. I was still sending it”.
“I had all of those things thrown at me and then with a 20 minute lead on the final lap at my last pit the bike didn’t want to fire. it was just one of those things. I didn’t panic, I knew I had time up my sleeve so I tried to roll-start it four or five times which isn’t easy to do in the sand. I even fell over and when I picked it up, it fired so I just got on with it”.
“When I saw Callum and then Gus go through I was pretty angry at the situation but I knew I had energy to keep going so I just wanted to finish it. I didn’t know what position I was in but I knew I wasn’t going to catch anyone in front of me because I couldn’t even see them so I just made sure no one was going to pass me. It was a cruel way to lose it but it would have hurt more if the bike didn’t fire and I had to park it and DNF”.
“I have a lot of stuff going on with racing in the USA and with life these days so that was just my July deal. There’s no point cracking the sads, it is what it is. I behaved when I got back from America and stayed training because I really wanted that win. I put my mind to it and focused but the bike let me down this time, not me.”
SEMMENS INJURED
Mason Semmens returned from racing in the USA to defend his 2023 Hattah title and after a very successful 2024 racing season to-date, was in the hot seat for a possible back-to-back win. Unfortunately, just two weeks before the race he suffered significant injury after a practice crash. The RPM KTM Team rider is now on rest and recovery duty back here in Australia and had to watch the 2024 Hattah Desert Race from home.
“Hattah is such big event. It’s a one-off and it’s getting known world-wide with a bunch of us always talking about in it the US. There’s a lot of interest in it because it’s a four-hour race which is very rare and there’s no other course like that in the country, or maybe in the world. I just love doing it”.
“I was looking forward to defending that Number One plate but things can happen in the blink of an eye. I have a complete dislocation to my ankle and multiple fractures to my foot and tibia and fibula. I have plates and screws everywhere in there”.
“I just tucked the front-end on a slight down-hill right-hand corner. I’d been hitting the same line all day, I was on my last moto and it wasn’t a big crash. It just happened so quickly and that’s what happened”.
“I watched Hattah on the live stream and it was a lot drier than last year which made it quite interesting. I think maybe a lot of the boys might have missed the mark with their bike setup. With it being so dry I think that might have played a factor in how it played out”.
“It was hard to watch from the couch though. To be honest I couldn’t wait for it to be over so I could just move on. The boys up front were riding fast and for Callum to come back from sixth or seventh was impressive”.
“I am going to stay back here and do my recovery until I am back on the bike and hopefully that is in time for me to still do a couple of races back in the US before the end of the year. I am happy with where I am at over there and the style of racing. The RPM KTM Racing Team went out on a limb to put me on their team. I was a very late edition and without the opportunity I wouldn’t be over there racing”.
“The good news is I am 100 percent locked in for the 2025 season with them so if there rest of this year doesn’t pan out, I can start fresh again with them in January and give it another crack.”
RESULTS
- Callum Norton 4:01:45 KTM
- Angus Riordan 4:02:53 KTM
- Jack Simpson 4:03:51 Yamaha
- Maximus Purvis 4:05:18 Yamaha
- Daniel Milner 4:06:43 KTM
- Korey McMahon 4:09:07 GASGAS
- Sam Pretscherer 4:10:45 KTM
- Corey Hammond 4:11:00 KTM
- Nathan Trigg 4:11:41 Sherco
- Riley McGillivray 4:17:04 KTM
OVER 450CC 4-STROKE
Callum Norton
251-450cc 4-STROKE
Angus Riordan
251cc AND OVER 2-STROKE
Jonte Reynders
UNDER-19
William Dennett
UP-TO 250CC 4-STROKE
Tom Buxton
VETERANS 35-44 YEARS
Todd Smith
UP-TO 250CC 2-STROKE
Liam Dinnage
LADIES 8-LAPS
Emma Milesevic
MASTERS 45 YEARS AND OVER
James Graham
LADIES 4-LAPS
Aimee Butler
WORDS // TUFFY
PHOTOS // FOREMOST MEDIA AND 94 VISUALS