The stars of the Australian desert motorcycle racing scene have joined forces to see how they fare in America’s toughest desert race. David Walsh, Ben Grabham, Liam Walsh, and Jacob Smith will race the #10X Pro Moto Unlimited KTM 450 under the Team Australia banner at the Baja 1000 in November.
David Walsh is one of the greatest riders in Australian off-road bike racing history. In June, he won the bike overall at the country’s legendary Finke Desert Race for a record-tying fifth year in a row. Walsh not finished worse than third at Finke since 2012, and is only one win away from tying Toby Price for the most on two wheels.
His cousin Liam, eleven years younger, won the Prologue stage at Finke but was knocked out by a crash that broke his wrist. Nevertheless, he has established himself as a rising star in the discipline after racing in the Australian Motocross Championship and winning the 450cc class at Finke in 2021.
Like the older Walsh, Grabham is a Finke icon with four bike wins to his name. He won three straight from 2007 to 2009, then added a fourth in 2011; he finished sixth and won the Masters class at the 2024 edition. “Grobbo” has also won titles in the Australian Off-Road Championship, the Hattah Desert Race, and the Australasian Safari rally raid thrice. Until 2016, he worked as team manager for KTM’s enduro and desert racing programmes.
While victory at Finke has eluded him, Smith has over a decade of experience in the event. He won the Australasian Safari in 2009 and 2012, while also finishing runner-up to his brother Todd in the 2011 race.
Smith and David Walsh are no strangers to Baja. The former raced the 1000 from 2016 to 2020 as a team-mate to Warren and Vernon Strange, while Walsh did so on Santiago Creel’s stable.
The #10X is typically used by Juan Carlos Salvatiera, who loaned the number to the Australians since he is now using #1X as the defending SCORE International bike champion.
Despite sharing the Team Australia name, they are obviously not to be confused with the Trophy Truck programme. Coincidentally, Price is the head of that Team Australia alongside Paul Weel.
The 2024 Baja 1000, scheduled for 15 November, is the fourth and final race of the SCORE season.
