HQVA press release:

Husqvarna riders from the Victoria-based Simford 1800Weldit Husqvarna Race Team made the brand the second most successful manufacturer in this year’s Tatts Finke Desert race in terms of motorcycle class wins, winning two of the eight official motorcycle categories.

Australia’s biggest off-road race, the Finke is a legendary 480-kilometre, two-day return journey from Alice Springs to Finke and back, and it provides an irresistible and unyielding challenge for both bikes and riders alike.

Simford 1800Weldit Husqvarna Race Team riders Mark Sladek and Brandon Kienhuis took their mighty Husqvarnas to victory in class 6 and 7 respectively, at the same time finishing 16th and 17th respectively in outright classification.

The Masters 35-39 Years class saw 36-year-old Somerville Motorcycles mechanic Mark Sladek successfully defend the title he won last year, powering his Husqvarna FE501 to the win in a time of 4:48:58, almost 4 minutes clear of Rod Faggotter, with another Simford 1800Weldit Husqvarna FE501, that of Anthony Hanlan, sharing the podium in third.

In the Seniors 40 to 44 years class, Brandon Kienhuis used a Husqvarna FC 450 to lead home Andrew Gillam by less than a minute, with Tony Hardman third.

The team’s female rider Breanna Simpson also featured in the achievements, coming home 180th outright on an FC250, while MotoGC-backed Husqvarna FE350 rider Kellie Catanese did even better at 156th outright.

The Simford 1800Weldit Husqvarna Race Team’s Manager Joel Stafford – who has he has won aboard Husqvarna machines for the last two years – was a frustrated observer this year after a knee operation left him unable to defend the Class 7 crown.

Simford 1800Weldit Husqvarna Race Team Manager Joel Stafford: “I couldn’t ride because of a knee operation so Brandon Keinhuis and Mark Sladek were onboard. We also had two young kids, one of them crashed and one of the young girls, Briana Simpson got 180th outright. Mark went down okay and came back strong considering he didn’t do a lot of training leading up to it. He did extremely well finishing 16th outright. Brandon winning class seven the way he did after a big crash on the way down that injured his shoulder. We saw the second making ground around the 180 km mark and we told him at the last fuel stop that he was close, so he gritted his teeth and went through the pain. I think he’s torn ligaments in his shoulder so to ride through that he did pretty well. We’re definitely keeping the old boy classes at bay at the moment.

Mark Sladek (FE501): “I couldn’t have asked for a better run. I put my back and neck out in a crash on the Tuesday before the race so I couldn’t move a great deal, but the bikes themselves are just so easy and nice to ride that it was still a smooth run. The track was definitely rougher; the moisture created a lot of square-edged bumps. I had a fair bit of dust to contend with because I started back on 22nd, so we still had to battle away there, but after that it was smooth sailing. I wasn’t tired or sore in the arms or legs or anything. It was actually quite a nice ride. I’ve been doing that race since ‘97 and ridden pretty much every kind of bike in that race, and as a Finke weapon the Husqvarna FE 501 is brilliant. I’ve sold three to friends who came and raced Finke, after doing it previously of other brands or older Huskies. Theirs were stock as a rock plus a steering damper, and they rode them and is said “how smooth are the these motorcycles?” They have that torque that they just pull basically in any gear without any problems and they just keep going and going. Now that I’ve got my own business and three kids I don’t get to do as much training and riding as I’d like to. This year I got to ride a motorcycle six times before the race including four times there – I’m not getting any younger but still I’m consistently up there, the bike makes it easy.”

Brandon Keinhuis (FE450): “I was so relieved to get that result. Finke is a great challenge but incredibly hard work. The start was a bit tough, We’d pulled my steering dampener off during the week to rebuild it but when I put it back on I forgot to turn it on, so as soon as I came out into the fifth gear straight and hit the choppy stuff it tank-slapped and I cart-wheeled. After that I couldn’t push with my left shoulder so from there I came off another four times. It was my own fault and I would have done it a lot easier without that. I might have maybe got close to the top ten, because the bike was grouse.”

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