It was a weekend of mixed results for KTM riders at the 2022 Hattah Desert Race, led by Emelie Karlsson storming to a podium in the Ladies category.
Qualifying sixth in class, Karlsson used her experience to stay clear of trouble in the opening laps before progressing to third, where she ultimately finished the eight laps in class for a deserved result.
A calculated approach to the Prologue saw KTM teammate Stefan Granquist set the 24th fastest time, with a plan in place to work his way forwards in Sunday’s eight-lap race.
After impressively clawing his way inside the top 10, unfortunately Granquist’s chain broke on the sixth lap, which forced him out of the race altogether.
KTM-mounted Lachlan Terry also impressed, setting the fastest time outright in Saturday’s Prologue and went on to finish a credible P5 in Sunday’s Senior Race.
In the Under 19s, another KTM in Riley McGillivray turned heads to complete the podium in third position, nearly 10 minutes ahead of his closest competitor.
Stefan Granquist: “Unfortunately my day ended prematurely – I think it was lap six when I snapped a chain. I think I got up to ninth and that’s where it was brought to a close. The Prologue on Saturday was mega fast, I haven’t been doing much training for that sort of stuff so that was a bit of an eye-opener, just how fast it was! Super-fun though, but was a bit off the pace there, and that didn’t really worry me as I felt like I was going to be strong in the main race and I was, climbing forward the whole time until the issue with my chain ended the day.”
Emelie Karlsson: “The Prologue was super-fast and pretty fun, but I made a couple of mistakes and I caught another rider on my lap. I finished sixth in that one, although I wasn’t too stressed about that. In the race today, I just decided I was going to try and get into a rhythm on the first lap, stay away from all of the mayhem that goes on, then I worked my way up a bit. I just kept rolling on, but had a really sore back as I’m still recovering from the fever that I had earlier this year – the joints get a bit sore. Still, I kept working away and finished third, so I am happy with that!”
2022 Hattah Desert Race
Senior Race results:
1. Daniel Sanders (GASGAS) 4h07m43.388s
2. Todd Waters (Husqvarna) 4h10m15.368s
3. Jack Simpson (Husqvarna) 4h13m35.332s
4. Andrew Wilksch (Husqvarna) 4h18m42.073s
5. Lachlan Terry (KTM) 4h20m17.011s
Ladies Race (Eight Laps) results:
1. Emma Milesevic (Honda) 4h10m11.983s
2. Madi Healey (Honda) 4h34m46.581s
3. Emelie Karlsson (KTM) 4h37m01.346s
4. Courtney Rubie (KTM) 4h28m13.596s
5. Isabella Bennett 4h24m01.252s
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