WHAT’S NEW FOR GRABBO’S TRAIL AND TRACK IN 2025?
Grabbo’s Trail and Track is thrilled to announce their collaboration with GASGAS returns for 2025, marking its third year offering VIP Race experience packages. This year, the partnership with GASGAS is back and better than ever.
Reflecting on the success of 2024, Ben ‘Grabbo’ Grabham raced alongside VIP customers in four out of five desert races, despite being hindered by a hand injury during Hattah. The legend of desert racing improved his result at Finke from the previous year on the GASGAS 500. The last VIP race of 2024 was also a highlight, with Ben being crowned ‘King of the West’ for a third consecutive year at the gruelling Kalgoorlie Desert Race.
‘I am more than happy to be running the GASGAS EC range again this year. Straight off the showroom floor they are the most powerful engine I’ve ridden,’ says Ben. ‘By the time we have set them up and added all our race parts they get even better.
‘Racing for me is no longer a job, so for me to want to line-up and keep racing I must enjoy and feel safe on the bike I’m riding. That is why you will see me back on the start line. I really do enjoy riding and racing this current GASGAS. I’m also excited about the improvements we have made with the overall handling of the new model. I believe our customers are in for a treat.’
Looking ahead this year, VIP Race Experience packages for the popular Finke Desert Race are back, although they are already sold out, with bookings now open for 2026—the race’s 50th anniversary year. Following Finke, the VIP calendar includes the Hattah Desert Race, Don River Dash, and will conclude again out west in Kalgoorlie. Excitingly, 2025 introduces the Yellow Mountain Cross Country, held in rural NSW in August.
‘I am looking forward to taking our VIP Race package to Yellow Mountain this year. The one time I raced it was back in 2008, I won the race and had a great time doing so, Ben shared. The format is like Finke as it’s a 240-kilometre point-to-point race between Condobolin and Tottenham and return. The terrain is a nice mix of high-speed open farmland to flowing single track in the trees. I have been looking at getting back to this fun race for a lot of years, so we have added it to our VIP Race experience calendar.’
Additionally, new in 2025 is Grabbo’s bike build and race prep package, which includes suspension customisation and race engine builds. With over 30 years of experience in bike setup and builds for enduro, desert and flat track, Ben and his team can provide tailored bikes within budget, along with individual setup and coaching sessions to ensure optimal performance.
The VIP Ride Experience will also return in 2025, including the ‘wildly’ successful VIP Wild West Ride from last year and more experiences to be announced soon. ‘It comes down to performance of the GASGAS EC 500, and a whole lot of help from the VIP crew as well as sponsors, says Ben. ‘I also got the chance to do a cool collab with Adam Riemann in Western Australia and worked with Ballard’s Offroad for some of the VIP trail rides in NSW. Some of those formats are set to return in 2025.’
Here are some testimonials from happy VIP customers in 2024:
Brodie Crane, QLD
“The setup was unreal. After a quick lap on Thursday, I felt comfortable, straight into the sight lap on Friday and race on Saturday and Sunday. Cheers to the guys for making the weekend a breeze.”
—Don River Dash ’24.
John Pilla, VIC
“What a wild event. The most dangerous thing I’ve ever done in my life! Can’t thank Ben Grabham and his amazing GASGAS team enough for the bike, riding tips, fuel stops, food and drinks, ice bath, nothing was a problem. You’d probably be mad to do it any other way.”
—Finke Desert Race ’24.
Georgie Hanhrahan, QLD
“All I can say is that if you want to come and do it, just do it and make sure you do it with Grabbo, he looks after you, does everything for you. You don’t have to worry about your fuel stops. The bike was amazing and for my first time I wouldn’t want it any other way.”
—Finke Desert Race ’24.
Jason Johnson, NSW
“Thanks to the guys working on the bikes. The bikes were A1. Grabbo started working on my bike on the Monday when we did pre-run and he kept tweaking and tweaking until it got to the stage where I liked it.”
Finke Desert Race ’24.
