Honda Racing Australia press release:

Image: Supplied.

The Peter Kittle Motor Company Honda Team has completed its inaugural Hattah Desert Race campaign, walking away with valuable experience, a dominant performance in the 450 class and an outright podium finish that confirms Honda Racing Australia’s new off-road program is already among the country’s elite.

Each year thousands of fans descend on Mildura for one of Australia’s most iconic off-road events. The three-day Hattah Desert Race attracts more than 600 competitors, creating an incredible festival atmosphere as fans meet riders, admire the latest race machinery and celebrate the sport.

Friday night belonged to the fans, while Saturday’s attention turned to Prologue, a fast, technical circuit where riders fight for their starting position in Sunday’s demanding four-hour endurance race.

Factory Honda immediately showed its pace.

Sam Pretscherer qualified as the fastest 450 rider and second outright, missing pole position by just four-tenths of a second.

“Four-tenths of a second is nothing. I made a couple of small mistakes but overall I was really happy with the pace. The bike was fantastic and it gave us plenty of confidence heading into race day,” said Pretscherer.

Fresh from his Finke Prologue victory, teammate Corey Hammond continued his impressive form, qualifying third outright and second fastest in the 450 class.

“Testing went really well and it showed. The bike was working exactly how we wanted and everyone in the team had confidence heading into Sunday,” Hammond said.

Team Manager and rider Brodie Waters qualified 14th outright and admitted his strategy didn’t quite pay off.

“I followed last year’s winner thinking it would help my lap, but we both lost a little time. That’s on me. We learnt from it and moved on.”

Sunday’s main event presented an entirely different challenge.

Heavy sections of the circuit, deep ruts and muddy conditions dramatically increased fuel consumption, creating an unexpected challenge that forced the team to alter its race strategy on the run.

After extensive testing leading into the event, the team had planned to complete two laps between fuel stops, as they had successfully achieved previously. However, the heavier-than-expected conditions combined with new race engines meant fuel usage was significantly higher, forcing the team to stop every lap.

“That’s something we simply couldn’t replicate in testing,” explained Waters.

“We take full responsibility. We based our strategy on the data we had, but the conditions changed everything. We adapted during the race and, while it cost us time, we’ve now gathered invaluable information that will make us much stronger next year.”

Despite the additional pit stops and early setbacks, both Factory Honda riders charged through the field.

Hammond recovered brilliantly from dropping outside the top ten on the opening lap, producing one of the rides of the day to finish fourth outright and second in the 450 class.

“I’m disappointed to just miss the outright podium, but we’re building something really exciting. We have the speed, we have the bike and now we have another year’s worth of knowledge. We’ll absolutely be back chasing podiums and victories.”

Pretscherer also mounted an impressive recovery after losing valuable time to an unscheduled stop, along with the additional pit visits required under the revised fuel strategy.

“I’m not taking anything away from Korey or the other riders in front, they rode outstanding races. We simply learnt some valuable lessons. The speed is there, the bike is incredibly competitive and we’ve collected the data we need to return even stronger. I’ve raced around the world and I can honestly say this is one of the best teams I’ve ever been part of.”

One of the standout achievements from the weekend was Honda’s domination of the 450 class, underlining the strength of the CRF450RX platform.

Waters believes the team’s first Hattah campaign has provided the foundation for future success.

“This is our first season racing at this level in desert competition. Every kilometre we complete gives us more information. We’ve learnt where we can improve, and we also know our competition will come back stronger, so we have to continue evolving. That’s what Factory Honda is about.”

Balancing his responsibilities as both Team Manager and rider, Waters admitted the dual role affected his personal result but remained proud of what the team achieved.

“You can’t manage a factory team and race at 100 percent at this level. I committed to doing both this season and I’m proud we’ve finished both major events. Personally, my results aren’t where I want them to be, but the team’s results absolutely are. We won Finke outright, finished second outright at Hattah and claimed first and second in the 450 class. That’s a tremendous foundation for a brand-new program.”

Honda Racing Australia’s Yarrive Konsky believes the team’s opening season has exceeded expectations while providing a clear direction for continued growth.

“I’m incredibly proud of what everyone has achieved. This is only our first season and we’ve already won the Finke Desert Race outright with Honda’s CRF450RX, the first 450 to do so in more than a decade—and we’ve now backed that up with second outright at Hattah while dominating the 450 class.”

“Of course, we wanted to win. That’s why we’re here. But we also know exactly why we didn’t challenge for the overall victory this time. Those lessons are priceless. They can’t be bought—they have to be earned. We’ll take everything we’ve learnt, continue developing the motorcycle and our program, and return even stronger. This is only the beginning of what we believe will become one of Australia’s premier off-road racing programs.”