HQVA press release:

Husqvarna’s trio of mighty FE 501 machines made their presence felt at this year’s Hattah Desert Race, with all three bagging top-10 finishes in the annual Mildura epic.

Husqvarna Enduro Racing Team riders Glenn Kearney and Lachy Stanford were seventh and ninth overall respectively, while another champion enduro racer, Jarrod Bewley, finished 10th in his return from semi-retirement, in one of only two race appearances he has scheduled for 2015. Competitors were tested with seven laps of the 38km course, and Kearney’s ride to seventh outright gave him a podium finish in the high-profile, big bore 4-stroke class, where he finished third behind outright winner Toby Price and Tye Simmonds.

Stanford began the race out of ninth starting position after prologuing just inside the top 10, and struggled early on with dust and turning at high speed in the smooth track conditions before the ruts and berms began to form up. Husqvarna Junior Motocross rider Callum Norton won his fourth Hattah junior championship in a row, leading home KTM’s Ben Kearns and Liam Mason.

Husqvarna Enduro Racing Team Manager Glenn Kearney (FE501): “It was a little different than we sort of prepared for and expected this year. Probably a much easier Hattah than they have been. I think a combination of the way they prepped the track and the dry conditions, the track stayed fairly smooth – for Hattah – it tended to get square edged bumps more than sand whoops. It was quite a short, fast race really. Seventh and ninth was where Lachy and I prologued, but both of us dropped back at the beginning and then had to come back through. I’m reasonably happy with how I rode but I sort of lost too much in the first two laps when it was really dusty and the smoothness meant I had no ruts to turn off. Bewley finished 10th on a Husky too so that was pretty cool. Our bikes were flawless and didn’t miss a beat the whole race. Even though it wasn’t as rough as normal it’s still a pretty hard race on the bikes. The fuel stops were exceptional too so a big thanks to Kevvy and Christian, and we have a helper in Dave and Lachy’s Dad Dean helped us as well in the pits, and then we had the wives and girlfriends out on the pit boards, so it was a pretty good effort by everyone.”

Lachy Stanford (FE501): “It wasn’t as hard as I expected it to be, so I had a bit of juice left in the tank afterwards, I wish we would have raced a bit longer or something! The first lap was really sketchy with dust, but once we got going one or two laps in it was good. I rode smooth and didn’t make many mistakes, but I lost the front pack on the first lap which was a shame. The track was amazing, the bike was amazing – it was so much fun being on the 501 and I really enjoyed my ride. I’d also like to say a huge thanks to the Husky off-road team for their awesome effort with fuel stops.”

Jarrod Bewley (FE 501): “It was really good to be back racing. I haven’t raced since the Six-Day last year and seeing all of the familiar faces was great. I was fairly fit and ready, but it didn’t all go to plan. I started making some moves early in the race and got up to seventh, but then I had a pretty nasty blister form in the middle of my hand. This year the dry track conditions meant that it wasn’t as nicely whooped as normal; it was more hard-packed, square-edged. It eventually tore and it became a bit of a struggle to hold on and to concentrate. I made the decision not to race this year because I wanted to work and try to earn some more money, but this race made me hungry to come back and improve. I’ll be at the four-day and I’ll definitely be back for this next year.”

Callum Norton (FC250): “It was awesome! This is my fourth win in a row. I qualified fastest in the prologue which is a good way to start the day, I was leading the race for a couple of laps, dropped back for a little bit, then made my way back to the front again and won it. It’s one of my favourite races each year, and I’ve won it on the 85 twice and now the 250 twice. It’s different to motocross – I love the speed and the sand, it’s awesome. The crowd is fantastic and the event’s run really well. Then especially on the Sunday it’s awesome to watch all the pro riders and see how fast they go and how good they are.”

For more information on Husqvarna motorcycles visit www.husqvarna-motorcycles.com.