Finke Desert Race
The Finke Desert Race, or Tatts Finke Desert Race, 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 Queen's Birthday long weekend in June. "Finke", as it is commonly known, is one of the biggest annual sporting events in the Northern Territory. The track. Encompassing about 229 km each way, the Finke Desert Race travels through many  properties on its way to end up crossing the Finke River just north of Aputula (previously known as Finke township). The Track is divided into 5 sections: History. There and back. 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 Queen's Birthday long weekend ever since. The race is run along sections of what was the Old Ghan railway service  track adjacent to the railway line along a winding corrugated track, which snakes through typical outback terrain of red dirt, sand, spinifex, mulga and desert oaks. Even though the railway was realigned and rebuilt in the early 1980s, with the old tracks being pulled up, the race continues along its original course. King of the desert. 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 holy grail of the  race outright winner or "King of the Desert" as it is known. For 11 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. Although the bikes and cars  no longer race against each other for the title, it is always interesting to see who completes the 460 km round trip quickest. 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 A$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, one of the racing vehicles struck spectators just 35 kilometres short of the finish line. One person was killed and two others, including the driver, hospitalised. The remainder of the event was subsequently cancelled, meaning the bike race was not completed and no winner announced that category. 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. Geoff Curtis , Yamaha 250, NT Phil Stoker, Suzuki 370, NT Geoff Curtis, Yamaha 500, NT Peter Stayt, Yamaha 500, NT Geoff Curtis, Yamaha 400, NT Phil Lovett, KTM 390, NSW Phil Lovett, KTM 495, NSW Stephen Gall, Yamaha 490, NSW Peter Stayt, Yamaha 490, NT Phil Lovett, KTM 495, NSW time 03:41:30 Stephen Gall, Yamaha 500, NSW David Armstrong, Kawasaki 500, QLD BIKES – Alan Roe, Honda 500, NT Winners. CARS – John Fidler/Peter Lewis, Corvette, NT BIKES – Mark Winter, Honda 500, NT CARS – Gary Nicolle/Jo Reed, Buggy, NT BIKES – Mark Winter, KTM 540, NT CARS – Gary Nicolle/Neil Shegog, Buggy, NT  BIKES – Randall Gregory, Honda 500, NT CARS – Keith Poole/Peter Walker, Buggy, SA BIKES – Randall Gregory, Honda 500, NT CARS – Greg Schlein/David Fellows, Buggy, NT BIKES – Randall Gregory, Honda 500, NT CARS – Steven Graydon/Tony Graydon, Buggy, WA BIKES - Randall Gregory, Honda 500, NT BIKES – Randall Gregory, Honda 500, NT BIKES – Dan Ashcraft, Honda 500, USA BIKES – Stephen Greenfield, Honda 500, NT BIKES – Stephen Greenfield, Honda 500, NT BIKES – Rick Hall, Honda 500, NT BIKES – Stephen Greenfield, Honda CR500, NT BIKES – Michael Vroom, Honda CR500, NT BIKES – Rick Hall, Honda CR500, NT BIKES – Darren Griffiths, KTM 540, WA BIKES  – Stephen Greenfield, Honda CRF 450, NT BIKES – Jason Hill, Honda CRF 450, NT BIKES – Ryan Branford, Honda CRF 450, NT BIKES – Ben Grabham, Honda CRF450R, NSW BIKES – Ben Grabham, Honda CRF450R , NSW time 4:04:43.02 BIKES – Ben Grabham, KTM 505 XC-F, NSW time 4:01:26.60 BIKES – Toby Price, KTM 450 SX-F , NSW time 4:03:25.62 BIKES - Ben Grabham, KTM 450 SX-F , NSW time 3:58:59.60 BIKES – Toby Price, KTM 450SXF, NSW time 3:57:03 BIKES – Todd Smith, Honda CRF450R, NSW time 04:02:08 BIKES – Toby Price, KTM 500EXC, NSW time 03:56:29 BIKES – Toby Price, KTM 500EXC, NSW time 03:52:54 BIKES – Toby Price, KTM  500EXC, NSW time 03:46:55 BIKES – Daymon Stokie, YAMAHA WR500F, NT time 04:11:12 BIKES – Toby Price, KTM 500EXC-F, NSW time 03:55:25.1 BIKES – David Walsh, KTM 500EXC, NSW time 03:56:01 BIKES – Not run due to coronavirus lockdown