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Full Throttle at Hattah for Empire Motorsports
It’s rough, it’s tough, it’s the Hattah Desert Race, but Empire Motorsports had the pace! The annual Hattah Desert Race is a calendar favourite, featuring over eight hundred competitors and a whopping ten thousand spectators across the weekend, the 2025 edition lived up to its hype. The entire motorcycle industry turns its eyes to the Mildura based event as riders from all disciplines line up to battle for the “King of the Desert” title, with Will Price and Nate Munro, aboard their Kawasaki KX machines, in front of the pack all weekend.
Nate commented “I had an awesome weekend up at Hattah, had a really good prologue with a start position of second but had a bit of a rough start getting passed down the first straight, but I held my position for most of the race then had an off on the last lap coming out of the bush, putting me back to 5th outright. All in all, a good day thanks to the team, a huge improvement from last year where I finished 18th.”
Sporting a sleek new green and grey design, the Empire Motorsports Kawasaki’s were a standout feature at Red Cliffs Oval Friday night, and they continued to turn heads throughout the weekend.
In the Junior 250cc division, 15-year-old Nate Munro proved his skills are broad, tackling the high speed, red desert sand with authority. An impressive second place outright in the Junior Big Wheels prologue set Nate up for a superb main race. With his true Munro spirit, grit and determination, Nate pushed his KX250X to its limits during the two-hour race on Saturday. Despite a mistake on the final lap, Munro would cross the finish line in a phenomenal 5th position.
The premier senior competitors lined up for prologue on Saturday afternoon. Will Price piloting the KX450X for the first time at Hattah turned heads as he blitzed the five minute prologue course, reaching speeds of 160 kilometres per hour. Starting off in position thirty seven, Price would pass his opponent in front to finish a remarkable 15th overall amongst the 450 senior entrants.
Price Recapped “Prologue is crazy every year. There is no feeling like it. Going from zero to one hundred and putting it all on the line for a blistering hot lap gets the adrenaline pumping. It’s nice to have a bit of experience on my side now and I pieced together a smooth lap giving us a great starting position for the main race.”
The roars of the big bore engines rumbled the ground and thousands of spectators lined the fences for the start of the colossal 8 lap endurance onslaught. Riders were faced with a 38 kilometre track, blasting at top gear along fence lines, gliding over sand dunes and weaving its way amongst the mallee scrub. Conditions deteriorated quickly as over 400 bikes ripped up the red sand lap after lap. Rocketing at the front of the field, Price pushed hard the entire race aboard his KX450X. His team executed their strategy, and fuel stops perfectly as he dug deep, charging hard for over four hours, crossing the finish line in a very respectful 19th. Overall, a strong performance from the 24 year old.
“The KX450X was awesome out there today. On Point Suspension had my bike gliding across the sand and I felt strong all race. I’m super proud of the whole Empire Motorsports team for giving me the best opportunity to succeed and coming 19th against a very strong field is amazing for our debut performance on the 450.” - Will Price
A special mention also goes to youngster Koby Munro, representing Team Green aboard his KX85 placing 10th in the Small Wheel 85cc Class. We are excited to see a bright future ahead for this superstar.
We would also like to extend a huge thank you to Leatt, as both Price and Munro debuted the new 2026 Leatt colour ways. Standing out from their fellow competitors in a bright red and blue design with sublimated prints, the boys were arguably one of the best dressed all weekend. This new release is one you will want to get your hands on very soon.
Team Manager Stelios reflected “Hattah this year was awesome! We had a great weekend with the team and it was absolutely unreal to bring home some solid results. Nate finished in the top five outright for juniors and Will put the KX450X in the top 20 outright in the senior race. We also had an awesome week leading into the race, doing a fair bit of development with Will on the on the KX450X. It was a great opportunity for further development and gave us a good baseline for the conditions that we had this year, and it showed in the race with Will being super comfortable all weekend. All in all, I feel like we ticked some good boxes and we’re excited already excited to head back there next year.”
It has been another strong weekend for the Empire Motorsports Off Road Team as they continue trending in a positive direction. Now at the halfway point in the season the focus now shifts back to the Australian Enduro Championship in September.
The Empire Motorsports Off-Road Race Team extends a huge thank you to everyone who provides ongoing support during our 2025 season.
2025 HATTAH DESERT RACE Results
Will Price
P14 - 450cc Class
P19 – Overall
Nate Munro
P5 - 250cc Class
P5 - Overall