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.

Track 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 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.

COVID-19 impact 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. 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.

2021 fatal crash 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. 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.

Media coverage

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

Highlights are available to watch on 7plus.

List of winners

+YearBikes winnerVehicleStateRun timeCars winnerVehicleStateRun time1976Geoff CurtisYamaha 250Northern TerritoryNot held1977Phil StokerSuzuki 370Northern Territory1978Geoff CurtisYamaha XT500Northern Territory1979Peter StaytYamaha XT500Northern Territory1980Geoff CurtisYamaha 400Northern Territory1981Phil LovettKTM 390New South Wales1982Phil LovettKTM 495New South Wales1983Stephen GallYamaha 490New South Wales1984Peter StaytYamaha 490Northern Territory1985Phil LovettKTM 495New South Wales1986Stephen GallYamaha XT500New South Wales1987David ArmstrongKawasaki KX500Queensland1988Alan RoeHonda CR500Northern TerritoryJohn Fidler/Peter LewisCorvetteNorthern Territory1989Mark WinterHonda CR500Northern TerritoryGary Nicolle/Jo ReedBuggyNorthern Territory1990Mark WinterKTM 540Northern TerritoryGary Nicolle/Neil ShegogBuggyNorthern Territory1991Randall GregoryHonda CR500Northern TerritoryKeith Poole/Peter WalkerBuggySouth Australia1992Randall GregoryHonda CR500Northern TerritoryGreg Schlein/David FellowsBuggyNorthern Territory1993Randall GregoryHonda CR500Northern TerritorySteven Graydon/Tony GraydonBuggyWestern Australia1994Randall GregoryHonda CR500Northern TerritoryKeith Poole/Peter WalkerBuggySouth Australia1995Randall GregoryHonda CR500Northern TerritoryBob Mowbray/Janette MowbrayBuggyNew South Wales1996Dan AshcraftHonda CR500 CaliforniaKeith Poole/Peter WalkerScorpion VW BuggySouth Australia1997Stephen GreenfieldHonda CR500Northern TerritoryPaul SimpsonJimco BuggyVictoria1998Stephen GreenfieldHonda CR500Northern TerritoryMark Burrows/Michael ShannonCougar BuggyVictoria1999Rick HallHonda CR500Northern TerritoryMark Burrows/Michael ShannonCougar BuggyVictoria2000Stephen GreenfieldHonda CR500Northern TerritoryMark Burrows/Michael Shannon2200cc Turbo BuggyVictoria2001Michael VroomHonda CR500Northern TerritoryDavid Fellows/Tony PintoSouthern Cross 2500cc BuggyNorthern Territory2002Rick HallHonda CR500Northern TerritoryMark Burrows/Michael ShannonJimco 2000cc BuggyVictoria2003Darren GriffithsKTM 540Western AustraliaMark Burrows/Colin HodgeJimco 2200cc Turbo BuggyVictoria2004Stephen GreenfieldHonda CRF450RNorthern TerritoryDavid Fellows/Tony PintoJimco 2200cc BuggyNorthern Territory2005Jason HillHonda CRF450RNorthern TerritoryShannon Rentsch/Ian RentschChenowth 2000cc BuggyVictoria2006Ryan BranfordHonda CRF450RNorthern TerritoryShannon Rentsch/Ian RentschChenowth 2000cc BuggyVictoria2007Ben GrabhamHonda CRF450RNew South WalesHayden Bentley/Ben ChivellJimco BuggySouth Australia2008Ben GrabhamHonda CRF450RNew South Wales04:04:43David Fellows/Andrew Kittle/Jason AdamiJimco 2000 Series BuggySouth Australia2009Ben GrabhamKTM 505 XC-FNew South Wales04:01:26David Fellows/Andrew KittleJimco 2000 Series BuggySouth Australia2010Toby PriceKTM 450 SX-FNew South Wales04:03:25David Fellows/Mark BergaminJimco 2000 Series BuggySouth Australia2011Ben GrabhamKTM 450 SX-FNew South Wales03:58:59Greg Gartner/Jamie JenningsFord F150South Australia2012Toby PriceKTM 450 SX-FNew South Wales03:57:03Brad Gallard/Rick Geiser/Scott ModistachTrophy TruckSouth Australia2013Todd SmithHonda CRF450RNew South Wales04:02:08Hayden BentleyRacer BuggySouth Australia2014Toby PriceKTM 500 EXCNew South Wales03:56:29Shannon Rentsch/Ian RentschJimco BuggyVictoria2015Toby PriceKTM 500 EXCNew South Wales03:52:54Shannon Rentsch/Ian RentschJimco BuggyVictoria2016Toby PriceKTM 500 EXCNew South Wales03:46:55Glenn Owen/Mathew RyanJimco BuggyVictoria2017Daymon StokieYamaha WR500FNorthern Territory04:11:12Shannon Rentsch/Ian RentschJimco BuggyVictoria2018Toby PriceKTM 500 EXC-FQueensland03:55:25Shannon Rentsch/Ian RentschJimco Aussie SpecialVictoria2019David WalshKTM 500 EXC-FNorthern Territory03:56:01Jack Rhodes/David PulinoJimco Aussie SpecialSouth Australia2020Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic2021David WalshKTM 500 EXC-FNorthern Territory01:45:34Toby Price/Joseph Weining/Mark DuttonTrophy TruckQueensland2022Toby Price wins Finke Desert Race-sets new record for overall time Auto Action 13 June 2022David WalshKTM 500 EXC-FNorthern Territory03:35:45Toby Price/Jason DuncanTSCO Trophy TruckQueensland2023David WalshKTM 500 EXC-FNorthern Territory03:35:48Toby Price/Jason DuncanTSCO Trophy TruckQueensland03:21:462024David WalshKTM 500 EXC-FNorthern Territory03:38:12Beau Robinson/Shane HuttMason Gen 2 Spec TTWestern Australia03:28:442025Corey HammondKTM 500 EXC-FNew South Wales 03:46:30Travis Robinson/Paul CurrieMason Trophy TruckWestern Australia03:24:352026David WalshHonda CRF450RNorthern Territory03:49:27Travis Robinson/Paul CurrieMason Trophy TruckWestern Australia03:23:06

Records Most wins (bikes) By rider (multiple winners) +WinsRiderYears6Toby Price2010, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018David Walsh2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 20265Randall Gregory1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 19954Stephen Greenfield1997, 1998, 2000, 2004Ben Grabham2007, 2008, 2009, 20113Geoff Curtis1976, 1978, 1980Phil Lovett1981, 1982, 19852Peter Stayt1979, 1984Stephen Gall1983, 1986Mark Winter1989, 1990Rick Hall1999, 2002

By manufacturer +WinsManufacturerYears21Honda1988-89, 1991-2002, 2004-08, 2013, 202619KTM1981-82, 1985, 1990, 2003, 2009-12, 2014-16, 2018-19, 2021-258Yamaha1976, 1978-80, 1983-84, 1986, 20171Suzuki1977Kawasaki1987

Most wins (cars) By driver (multiple winners) +WinsDriverYears6Shannon Rentsch2005, 2006, 2014, 2015, 2017, 20185Mark Burrows1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003David Fellows2001, 2004, 2008, 2009, 20103Keith Poole1991, 1994, 1996Toby Price2021, 2022, 20232Gary Nicolle1989, 1990Hayden Bentley2007, 2013Travis Robinson2025, 2026

See also Australian Off Road Championship Kalgoorlie Desert Race Pooncarie Desert Dash

Notes

References

External links