Rod Faggotter in action at the Gascoyne Dash. Image: Randall Kilner.

Yamaha Desert Racing’s Rod Faggotter added another victory to his resume with a win at the 2012 Gascoyne Dash held in Western Australia.

Faggotter won the two-day event after five hours of racing across some rugged and remote WA countryside. On board the Yamaha YZ450F, Faggotter took the win by just under two minutes, beating home more than 50 other competitors in the motorcycle division.

Day one had Faggotter running in third place, but a barnstorming second and final day saw him take the win and finish his 2012 season on a strong note. He finished ahead of WA riders Luke Clay and Warren Thompson who took second and third respectively.

“Because of the format of this event and with fuel range not an issue, we elected to run the YZ450F instead of my usual WR450F,” Faggotter commented. “Fuel stops were every 90 kays and it is a sprint style event, so the YZ450F is perfectly suited to this and proves it is such a versatile bike.

“The event itself went without drama and it was also nice to win the overall and beat home the cars as well. It’s the first time in a while the bikes have beaten the cars out here.”

Faggotter now heads back to his Longreach base in Queensland to begin preparations for the Dakar Rally event early next year. The Yamaha dealer will compete in the toughest adventure race of them all and is looking forward to the challenge.

“I had my first taste of the Dakar race last year and while it was tough, I really enjoyed it,” he added. “This year I go back with a little more knowledge on it and also some experience on what to expect. But before that there is a couple of months of hard work.”