Tuesday Track Talk

Hot Takes from Hattah
Australia’s most challenging dirt bike race, the Hattah Desert Race, roared through the Victorian wilderness on the weekend with around 800 riders take part in the two-day event.

With racing in the Mildura area, the town comes alive for one of its busiest weekends of the year with the local community getting behind the event.

The juniors contest a two-hour race on Saturday, then the big boys come to play on Sunday with eight laps of a 30-minute loop that has riders red-lining for four hours. The weather played its part and the conditions were cold, but the dirt was moist as a never-ending line of riders disappeared into the sandy surrounds of Midura.

It was a mixed weekend for Yamaha riders and teams with a class win and a couple of class podiums but also some crashes and mechanical issues. But that is Hattah. It’s tough on everything and everyone.

To view the Yamaha BLU CRU round review: https://youtu.be/xCjCkn4iSN8

ShopYamaha Off Road
The ShopYamaha Off Road duo of Maximus Purvis and Cooper Sheidow got off to a slow start in Saturday’s Prologue. Purvis crashed and lost considerable time and was left outside the top 15, while Sheidow couldn’t generate the pace to match the front guys. Both boys were hoping for a change of fortune come race day.

You can call Purvis many things, but slow isn’t one of them. He burst from the blocks and started slicing his way through the field. At the end of lap one, he already past 17 riders and was into third place. He then moved into second, and the hunt was on for the leader, but it all hit the fan moments later when he lost control in the sand and fell awkwardly, damaged his already tender ribs.

Purvis tried to soldier on but was in far too much pain to continue for another three hours and was forced to withdraw from the event.

Sheidow took the opposite approached and, like a diesel engine, he just kept chugging away. With each lap he improved his position and by race end had clawed his way to ninth outright in a good performance.

“It wasn’t a great weekend for the team as far as results go but there were some good takeaways from the race. Both riders felt the bike was really good. The motor was strong, fast, and reliable and they were confident in the sand.

“Maximus only knows one way to race and that’s all in. Sometimes it rewards you, other times it punishes you. This time it didn’t work out but he was moving forward on that opening lap in a hurry.

“For Cooper, he managed the race well and he will be better for the experience. This is unlike any other race so know he has an understanding of how things look towards the front, I’m sure he will improve again in 2027.”

JGR Yamaha
With Jess Gardiner stepping off the bike and running things from ground control it was left to Rachael Archer, Jeremy Carpentier and Lorna Lock to fly the flag on the weekend.

Archer acquitted herself well and managed to come home in third place in the Women’s division. Having had a baby only three months ago, doing a four-hour endurance race was always going to be a challenge, but she stuck with it and dug deep right to the very end.

Carpentier finished 14^th Outright in a good showing. Any result inside the top 20 is worthy and Carpentier used his experience and fitness to get through.

But the team was led by Lorna Lock. In the Girls Big Wheel class and on a YZ85 competing against more power 125 and 250cc machines, Lock came within two seconds of securing the class win. It was a gritty performance from Lock and one she does regularly at Aus Enduro events.

“It’s much less stressful as a rider,” Comments Gardiner, “but I don’t feel as second hand now as I would If I had just done four hours of racing. I enjoyed helping from the sidelines and offering advice where I could and it was certainly a different experience for me.”

WBR Yamaha
It was an all or nothing weekend for the WBR Yamaha team. All in the case of Marcus Nowland, who was on loan from Yamaha Junior Racing for the weekend and he certainly delivered.

Nowland won the E1 class on the YZ250FX that the WBR Yamaha team prepared for him. He was able to take control of the race and lead every lap on his way to a sensational victory. He was the first 250 home and 32^nd out right against the big bore machines.

For Jacob Sweet, it was the compete opposite. He crashed the week prior and did some damage to his knee but decided on racing Hattah and doing the best he could. Unfortunately, it didn’t last long and another fall some him have to withdraw from the event.

“It was a super busy weekend for us and it’s a great event for our dealership which isn’t too far from here. We had Marcis and Jacob at the top level but also tried to help a range of our shop customers through the event, so things were pretty hectic.

“It was great for Marcus to get the win. He was easy to deal with a did a great job on the track. Jacob re injured a knee and wasn’t in any condition to finish the race, so it was best to pull him out and keep him safe.”

In the Juniors, Stella Harding is an off-road guru and finished the event in second place in the Junior small wheel class. Stella has always done well here and again showed she is a force to be reckoned with in the sandy hills behind Mildura.

The Crew Behind the Crown
Racing in a foreign country is challenging. Racing a world junior motocross championship is the Czech Republic is at another level. Behind’s Blake success at that event was a small team of people who contribute to making events like these as simple as possible.

Yamaha Motor Europe work closely with Yamaha Motor Australia in a range of racing activities. From WSBK at Phillip Island to ISDE to MXON, Yamaha Europe have been there to help and every time we have requested assistance from our European counterparts, they have delivered. Blake and Hudson had two brand new bikes at their disposal on the weekend plus a range of parts and Yamalube, all thanks to YME.

The Anzac connection. Ben Townley and Josh Coppins both know their way around Europe from their racing careers. Both now have sons racing in Europe and have established a workshop in Belgium the team could use before heading over to Jinin. Everything was sent there and when we needed help on the ground, Ben and Josh stepped up.

Ross Beaton operates at the MA team manager and tries to keep the fimalies and riders in line. Working with junior riders is much harder than people realise as you and not just thinking of the one person but also take into consideration the requests and requirements of the family. Great job, Rosco.

And our resident YMA bike guru, Darren Thompson. Don’t leave your lawn mower at Thomo’s place. He will port the cylinder, re jet it, bore the carby out and before you know it, you will need to run behind it, so you don’t foul a plug on the lawn.

Thomo cattle-classed it to Brussels, drove eight hours over to Jinin, worked on two bikes in the pouring rain and didn’t sleep for days. But that’s how Thomo rolls. Then he did it all in reverse coming home. Thanks, Thomo.

The Weekend Ahead.
She is back. Lala Turner is back on Australian shores for the next five weeks and ready to do battle at the remaining three rounds of the 2026 ProMX Championship. Lala has had a good, if not eventful start, to her US campaign where she currently leads the championship but now the focus is back on Australia and resuming her battle with Charli Cannon. It all starts this weekend at Traralgon.

Jed Beaton is looking to make it five round wins from six rounds in 2026 and inch his way closer to an elusive ProMX championship. Beaton hasn’t missed a beat so far this year, but if anyone knows about the up and down nature of motocross, its Beaton, and you can be sure his eyes are firmly on the prize.

Aaron Tanti is quietly stacking up a respectable championship and sits 3^rd in the MX1 class, just one point out of second. He continues to consistently place his YZ450F near the front of the field and has improved with each round.

Noah Ferguson is the first Yamaha in MX2 and currently sits in 5^th place. Ferguson has been fast at times and has won the two of the last four motos in convincing fashion. Don’t be surprised to see Noah get on a bit of a roll as the season winds down.

In the MX3 class, Kiwi Hayden Draper will be looking to increase his lead in the championship. He is 30 points ahead now, but the Kiwi is never content, and a round win here would go a long way to in securing the championship for 2026.

Action starts at 8am this Sunday at Traralgon. Live Streaming on the morning sessions can be found via the ProMX social media pages, while SBS telecast the afternoon races from 1pm.