GHR Honda Rider Ben Grabham Wins the Condo 750 Again

Ben on his way to his third Condo 750 victory

Twenty years since the first Condo 750 or (Centre Trek 750) as it was originally known and the result was a familiar one with Honda finishing the gruelling event in front of all others. The event was originally started as a shakedown event for the Australian Safari with the original promoter owning both events of the day. Everything about the Condo 750 is based on the Australian Safari with the Easter classic quite simply a two day or mini Safari.

As the years went on it was taken over by the local community and has become a standalone event in its own right. With riders and drivers coming from all corners of the country and even a few international competitors looking to do battle with each other and the terrain.

Ben and Damien putting their maps in at the lunch break

Each day consists of special tests linked by liaison sections on main roads. Riders have to navigate the whole day on both sections. 160kph speeds with maps, a form of racing that not all fast riders can master. No such problem for GHR Honda star Ben Grabham "Yeah I had a trouble free run, I think it is my first rally where I never actually got lost. I think this was the hardest Condo ever in terms of the course, the second stage on day two had me sweating, a big thanks to the local community for letting us race through their area each year" commented Ben.

Tony Lockett, Ben Grabham, Damien Grabham and Andrew Coaker

Day one was 417km with riders tackling three special tests. Day two was another 379km made up of 4 special tests. Damien Grabham has been signed for 2008 to contest both the Condo 750 and Australian Safari for the GHR Honda team.

"I am glad to be part of the GHR team with my brother Ben. The 450 X was great all weekend. I suffered from geography issues (got lost) but Ben and Todd rode well and would have still beat me. I won the last special test and look forward to the Safari." said Damien .

Plugger looking forward to his first navigational rally

GHR Honda’s new star recruit Tony Lockett also made his rally debut on the weekend. Tony "Plugger" Lockett is a dirt bike tragic for many years and has finally made the decision to compete in several of the events he has read about for years. Tony has been contracted by the GHR Honda team to participate in the Condo 750, Finke De-sert Race, Hattah Desert Enduro and finally the Australian Safari in August.

"I live just down the road from the GHR Honda workshop so after picking up a CRF 450 R I bought from Honda it seemed perfect timing for me to have a go at these events I have always followed. The Condo was hard work and the speed of the front boys is scary, how they navigate and ride that fast is awesome. The community atmos-phere, the course, team and bike were great I had an absolute ball, I am looking for-ward to finishing the next challenge which is the Finke event in June."

Plugger on the gas

Team boss Glenn Hoffmann commented on the weekend "The event was well run and a huge effort was put in by the local community. Up the front Grabbo did what he does best and won, Damien and Coke both put in strong rides and finished in the top ten. I rode Ben’s Safari winning bike just to do some long term testing and sat with Tony to help him through his first major event. Tony is a human headline with locals coming out everywhere for photo’s and autographs and no one went home unhappy!"

2008 Condo 750 Top 5

1st Outright Ben Grabham Honda CRF450X
2nd Outright Todd Smith Yamaha WRF450
3rd Outright Damien Grabham Honda CRF450X
4th Outright Mathew Fish KTM 530EXC
5th Outright Shane Diener Kawasaki KLX450