It was a 100 percent finish rate for the three female Sherco racers at the 2018 Hattah Desert Race last weekend. Danielle Foot was the standout rider on her Road and River Sherco 250 SE-R landing on the podium with a very respectable third place.
Foot’s result was more impressive given she had surgery just a few weeks ago to plate her right collar bone that was fractured in the Finke Desert Race.
“My shoulder gave me a bit of pain but it was a matter of trying to block it out to get through the race,” Foot explained. “The track became really rough quite quickly, but I still had fun getting on top of the whoops and holding my bike flat on the straights. The Sherco didn’t miss a beat. I didn’t get the result I was after, but all things considered, I had a lot of fun.”
Motul Pirelli Sherco Team riders Sophie Coldicutt and Kate Norman put in solid performances with Coldiucutt placing fifth after an early race crash.
I didn’t prologue all that well, back in fourth place and quite a distance off third,” Coldicutt explained. “The first lap of the race I was able to make my way up the order in the dust but I had a big crash on the second lap. That kind of knocked the stuffing out of me so I just worked on making it to the end in one piece. My bike was epic. I was passing riders everywhere down the straights.
Kate Norman recorded her personal best Hattah result on her Motul Pirelli Sherco 300 SEF-R with sixth place. A solid prologue and increased level of fitness helped propel Norman three places up the order from her previous Hattah experience.
“The first lap I crashed in the dust on one of the straights,” said Norman “I didn’t hurt myself and the bike was fine. I actually felt really good. I came into this race fit and I was still charging on the last lap. The bike was perfect and even though the track was rough my fitness allowed me to really enjoy the race.”
Photography: John Pearson