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Finke Desert Race

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

CountryNorthern Territory, Australia
Inaugural event1976
Official Websitefinkedesertrace.com.au

The Finke Desert Race is an off-road, multi-terrain two-day race for motorbikes, cars, buggies and quad bikes through desert country from Alice Springs to the small and remote community of Aputula (called Finke until the 1980s) in Australia's Northern Territory. The race is usually held each year on the King's Birthday long weekend in June. "Finke", as it is commonly known, is one of the biggest annual sporting events in the Northern Territory.[1]

Track

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Encompassing about 229km each way, the Finke Desert Race travels through many properties on its way to end up crossing the Finke River just north of Aputula. The track is divided into five sections:

  • Start/Finish Line to Deep Well (61 km)
  • Deep Well to Rodinga (31 km)
  • Rodinga to Bundooma (43 km)
  • Bundooma to Mount Squires (45 km)
  • Mount Squires to Finke (49 km)

History

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The race started in 1976 as a "there and back" challenge for a group of local motorbike riders to race from Alice Springs Inland Dragway to the Finke River and return. After the success of this initial ride, the Finke Desert Race has been held annually on the King's Birthday long weekend ever since. The race is run along sections of the Central Australia Railway along a winding corrugated track, which goes through the outback terrain of red dirt, sand, spinifex, mulga and desert oaks. Even though the railway line was realigned and rebuilt in the early 1980s, with the old tracks being pulled up, the race continues along its original course.

While originally the Finke was only a bike race, its increasing popularity saw the introduction of cars and off-road buggies in 1988. A rivalry developed between the two and four wheelers, as the buggies were keen to claim the "King of the Desert" title. For eleven consecutive years the bikes were too quick for the cars despite the gap constantly narrowing. Finally in 1999, a buggy returned home first to claim the honour, with the bikes winning back the title in 2000 and 2001. From 2002 until 2004 the buggies held onto the "King of the Desert" title. In 2005 the title was changed to see two "Kings of the Desert", one for the cars and one for bikes, each picking up $10,000 for their effort. The last bike to beat the cars time was Michael Vroom in 2001 on his Honda CR500.[citation needed]

COVID-19 impact

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The 2020 race was cancelled for the first time in the event's history due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This cost the economy of Alice Springs about $8 million.[2] In 2021 about 200 Victorian competitors, plus race officials, were unable to attend when the Northern Territory classed all of Victoria as a hot spot after the state entered its fourth lockdown.[3]

2021 fatal crash

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During the 2021 race, a vehicle struck spectators just 35 kilometres short of the finish line. One person was killed and two others, including the driver, were hospitalised. The remainder of the event was subsequently cancelled, meaning the bike race was not completed.[4] The buggy category had already been won earlier that morning. The winning racer, Toby Price, had previously won in the bike category six times, and therefore became the first person to have won in both the bike and buggy categories.[5]

Media coverage

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A 2018 television documentary Desert Daredevils: The Finke Desert Race[6] and Finke: There and Back described the experiences of some racers.[7]

Highlights are available to watch on 7plus.[8]

List of winners

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[9][10]

Year Bikes winner Vehicle State Run time Cars winner Vehicle State Run time
1976 Geoff Curtis Yamaha 250 Northern Territory Not held
1977 Phil Stoker Suzuki 370 Northern Territory
1978 Geoff Curtis Yamaha XT500 Northern Territory
1979 Peter Stayt Yamaha XT500 Northern Territory
1980 Geoff Curtis Yamaha 400 Northern Territory
1981 Phil Lovett KTM 390 New South Wales
1982 Phil Lovett KTM 495 New South Wales
1983 Stephen Gall Yamaha 490 New South Wales
1984 Peter Stayt Yamaha 490 Northern Territory
1985 Phil Lovett KTM 495 New South Wales
1986 Stephen Gall Yamaha XT500 New South Wales
1987 David Armstrong Kawasaki KX500 Queensland
1988 Alan Roe Honda CR500 Northern Territory John Fidler/Peter Lewis Corvette Northern Territory
1989 Mark Winter Honda CR500 Northern Territory Gary Nicolle/Jo Reed Buggy Northern Territory
1990 Mark Winter KTM 540 Northern Territory Gary Nicolle/Neil Shegog Buggy Northern Territory
1991 Randall Gregory Honda CR500 Northern Territory Keith Poole/Peter Walker Buggy South Australia
1992 Randall Gregory Honda CR500 Northern Territory Greg Schlein/David Fellows Buggy Northern Territory
1993 Randall Gregory Honda CR500 Northern Territory Steven Graydon/Tony Graydon Buggy Western Australia
1994 Randall Gregory Honda CR500 Northern Territory Keith Poole/Peter Walker Buggy South Australia
1995 Randall Gregory Honda CR500 Northern Territory Bob Mowbray/Janette Mowbray Buggy New South Wales
1996 Dan Ashcraft Honda CR500 United States Keith Poole/Peter Walker Scorpion VW Buggy South Australia
1997 Stephen Greenfield Honda CR500 Northern Territory Paul Simpson Jimco Buggy Victoria
1998 Stephen Greenfield Honda CR500 Northern Territory Mark Burrows/Michael Shannon Cougar Buggy Victoria
1999 Rick Hall Honda CR500 Northern Territory Mark Burrows/Michael Shannon Cougar Buggy Victoria
2000 Stephen Greenfield Honda CR500 Northern Territory Mark Burrows/Michael Shannon 2200cc Turbo Buggy Victoria
2001 Michael Vroom Honda CR500 Northern Territory David Fellows/Tony Pinto Southern Cross 2500cc Buggy Northern Territory
2002 Rick Hall Honda CR500 Northern Territory Mark Burrows/Michael Shannon Jimco 2000cc Buggy Victoria
2003 Darren Griffiths KTM 540 Western Australia Mark Burrows/Colin Hodge Jimco 2200cc Turbo Buggy Victoria
2004 Stephen Greenfield Honda CRF450R Northern Territory David Fellows/Tony Pinto Jimco 2200cc Buggy Northern Territory
2005 Jason Hill Honda CRF450R Northern Territory Shannon Rentsch/Ian Rentsch Chenowth 2000cc Buggy Victoria
2006 Ryan Branford Honda CRF450R Northern Territory Shannon Rentsch/Ian Rentsch Chenowth 2000cc Buggy Victoria
2007 Ben Grabham Honda CRF450R New South Wales Hayden Bentley/Ben Chivell Jimco Buggy South Australia
2008 Ben Grabham Honda CRF450R New South Wales 04:04:43 David Fellows/Andrew Kittle/Jason Adami Jimco 2000 Series Buggy South Australia
2009 Ben Grabham KTM 505 XC-F New South Wales 04:01:26 David Fellows/Andrew Kittle Jimco 2000 Series Buggy South Australia
2010 Toby Price KTM 450 SX-F New South Wales 04:03:25 David Fellows/Mark Bergamin Jimco 2000 Series Buggy South Australia
2011 Ben Grabham KTM 450 SX-F New South Wales 03:58:59 Greg Gartner/Jamie Jennings Ford F150 South Australia
2012 Toby Price KTM 450 SX-F New South Wales 03:57:03 Brad Gallard/Rick Geiser/Scott Modistach Trophy Truck South Australia
2013 Todd Smith Honda CRF450R New South Wales 04:02:08 Hayden Bentley Racer Buggy South Australia
2014 Toby Price KTM 500 EXC New South Wales 03:56:29 Shannon Rentsch/Ian Rentsch Jimco Buggy Victoria
2015 Toby Price KTM 500 EXC New South Wales 03:52:54 Shannon Rentsch/Ian Rentsch Jimco Buggy Victoria
2016 Toby Price KTM 500 EXC New South Wales 03:46:55 Glenn Owen/Mathew Ryan Jimco Buggy Victoria
2017 Daymon Stokie Yamaha WR500F Northern Territory 04:11:12 Shannon Rentsch/Ian Rentsch Jimco Buggy Victoria
2018[11] Toby Price KTM 500 EXC-F Queensland 03:55:25 Shannon Rentsch/Ian Rentsch Jimco Aussie Special Victoria
2019[12] David Walsh KTM 500 EXC-F Northern Territory 03:56:01 Jack Rhodes/David Pulino Jimco Aussie Special South Australia
2020 Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
2021[13] David Walsh KTM 500 EXC-F Northern Territory 01:45:34[a] Toby Price/Joseph Weining/Mark Dutton Trophy Truck Queensland
2022[14] David Walsh KTM 500 EXC-F Northern Territory 03:35:45 Toby Price/Jason Duncan TSCO Trophy Truck Queensland
2023[15][16] David Walsh KTM 500 EXC-F Northern Territory 03:35:48 Toby Price/Jason Duncan TSCO Trophy Truck Queensland 03:21:46
2024[17] David Walsh KTM 500 EXC-F Northern Territory 03:38:12 Beau Robinson/Shane Hutt Mason Gen 2 Spec TT Western Australia 03:28:44

See also

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References

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  1. ^ The bikes only contested the first leg.
[edit]
  1. ^ "Finke Desert Race Official Website".
  2. ^ "Finke Desert Race cancelled due to coronavirus, costing Alice Springs millions". ABC Alice Springs. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 8 March 2020. Retrieved 5 June 2021.
  3. ^ Brash, Stewart; Haskin, Emma (4 June 2021). "Finke Desert Race dreams turn to dust for hundreds of Victorians". ABC Alice Springs. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 5 June 2021.
  4. ^ "Finke Desert Race racing vehicle crashes, killing spectator near finish line". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 14 June 2021.
  5. ^ Jonscher, Samantha (14 June 2021). "Toby Price makes history with buggy category win". Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
  6. ^ "Desert Daredevils: The Finke Desert Race".
  7. ^ "Finke: There and Back". IMDb.
  8. ^ "Finke premieres on 7plus".
  9. ^ "Hall of Fame". Finke Desert Race. Archived from the original on 7 May 2018. Retrieved 23 January 2024.
  10. ^ "Hall of Fame". Finke Desert Race. Archived from the original on 17 March 2012. Retrieved 23 January 2024.
  11. ^ Halpin, Thea (11 June 2018), "Finke Desert Race: Champion rider Toby Price wins motorbikes title for the sixth time", ABC News
  12. ^ "Alice Springs rider wins Finke desert race", The North West Star, 11 June 2019
  13. ^ Tuff, Stephen (15 June 2021), "Tragedy halts 2021 Finke Desert Race as Walsh declared winner", Bikesales
  14. ^ Toby Price wins Finke Desert Race-sets new record for overall time Auto Action 13 June 2022
  15. ^ "David Walsh Claims Fourth-Straight King Of The Desert Crown At 2023 Tatts Finke Desert Race", Full Noise, 12 June 2023
  16. ^ Haskin, Emma (12 June 2023), "Motorsport legend Toby Price wins a record ninth Finke Desert Race title", ABC News
  17. ^ Robinson, Lee (10 June 2024). "David Walsh, Beau Robinson crowned winners at 2024 Finke Desert Race in Alice Springs". ABC News.
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