By Cam Lucadou-Wells
A Narre Warren North band of brothers have made history by scooping all the places in Australia’s premier off-road racing event.
Mitchell, Jake and Cooper Van Vliet finished 1, 2 and 3 on their quad bikes ahead of an international field at the Finke Desert Race on the Queen’s Birthday weekend.
After snaring his third Finke title, Mitchell, 25, is now the most crowned rider in the race’s 41-year history.
For good measure, brother Harry was part of their fuel-stop crew during this record feat.
According to locals, this year’s track between Alice Springs and Finke was at its roughest and dustiest, Mitchell said.
Over the 492-kilometre return trip, Mitchell tore off an average 108km/h across an array of sand, rock, bumps and pitfalls.
He slowed to about 80km/h as he wrestled his bike over a 120-kilometre section of woops or sand bumps.
Mitchell had the luxury of sitting down during about 15 kilometres of his ride.
It’s difficult to replicate the challenging terrain while training in Narre Warren North, Mitchell said.
“The race is like nothing in this world. Even the Americans who go in the Baja (in Mexico) say it is another step crazier.
“You’ve got to be 100 per cent focused to make sure nothing jumps out and catches you off-guard.”
Of this year’s 600-plus riders, about 200 failed to finish. Medics apparently ran out of tubes to inflate riders’ lungs that popped during rib-shattering falls.
Over his career, Mitchell has won two national championships, raced in Europe and is a current national champion in China.
He’s also broken both shoulders, both wrists, both ankles and his jaw.
“It’s such a physically demanding sport, but it’s more mental than anything,” he says.
“If you get the mindset that you’re going to win, you’re going to push out the negativity.”
At age two or three, he boarded his first motorised bike – a PW 50. Then at 12, he swapped to the four-wheelers that his father Robert raced.
Mitchell’s sights are set also on breaking freestyle records – being the first in the world to jump 60 metres and the first Australian to back-flip a quad-bike in dirt.
He and his brothers have also formed All4FMX, performing a show of freestyle tricks in shows around Australia.
