Finke 2024: Beau Robinson, David Walsh claim King of the Desert titles
A hometown hero has won a record-equalling fifth consecutive bike title, while there were tears of joy as an off-road star triumphed as the cars King of the Desert. Check out the latest Finke action.
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Hometown hero David Walsh has once again etched his place into the Finke history books winning his fifth consecutive King of the Desert title in the bikes category.
His 2024 win means he equals the five-year domination of one of the icons of his youth in Randall Gregory, who dominated from 1991 to 1995.
Walsh finished with an overall time of 3:38:12.583 after taking the lead on the Day 1 trip to Aputula despite starting third off the Prologue.
“It’s amazing. We did what we set out to do, which is get on top of the podium again,” Walsh said.
“I knew the boys would be stiff competition this year and they proved that, it was good to have a clean ride and we’re happy to be home and safe.
“We just had to stay focused the whole way and get home in one piece.”
The win also brings him within touching distance of the six bike titles achieved by Finke legend Toby Price.
However, Walsh said records weren’t the focus for him, instead he was focused on living out his boyhood dream of racing in the big desert race.
“Records aren’t something I care about to be perfectly honest with you,” he said.
“I’m just happy to win, happy to be safe and happy to come home to my family, this has just been a dream of mine to race this event and I’m lucky enough not to have won it five times.”
His cousin Liam Walsh was ahead of the pack on Prologue Day, but an unfortunate spill on the trip down meant he was forced to DNF.
Instead it was Callum Norton who wrapped up second place, as he did 12 months ago, throwing down the challenge to Walsh the entire distance.
He pipped Korey McMahon for the silver position, who pushed him the whole way and was only about five seconds off the pace at the final fuel stop.
“I’m stoked to come home second for my second year in a row, David was really impressive and hard to beat,” Norton said.
“Korey as well, he was on the gas and pushed me the whole way there and the whole way back, so I’m really happy with how it turned out.
“We put six months of work into this and to stand on the podium with them both, who I’ve known for a long time, it makes it even sweeter.”
First over the the line for the women was Madi Healey who was the 54th rider across the line with a time of 02:30.31.
Healey said it was her first time riding in Finke – and it was a spur of the moment decision between her and her father which pushed her into entering.
“Every year I was wanting to come ... I was actually flying over to New Zealand for the Oceania Race and Dad and I were talking about it (entering Finke) all the way and the entry was actually open,” she said.
The spur of the moment entry led to Healey being crowned this year’s Queen of the Desert as the first female rider across the line.
“I’m stoked – this is my first ever Finke Desert Race and to come here and just finish it let alone win it – I’m just stoked,” she said.
“I’m speechless actually.
“It was everything I expected and a little bit more.”
Healey suffered a “little tip over” but said that didn’t stop her from finding her groove and making it there and back for this year’s Finke.
Last year’s woman’s winner Taylah Maurice cracked the top 100 over the finish line, being the 91st over the line with a time of 02:40.03.
Tears as off-road star wins first Finke title
There were plenty of tears when Australian off-road star Beau Robinson crossed the line to claim his first King of the Desert title at Finke.
Robinson has gone to the great desert race on plenty of occasions, but he was unstoppable in the 2024 edition sitting alongside navigator Shane Hutt.
He won Prologue Day, held his lead out to Aputula to open the race and then confirmed himself the King in the early hours of Monday as he crossed the line with an overall time of 3:28:44.776.
“It’s been a long time coming, after all the ups and downs over the years it’s good to get the win,” Robinson said.
“We certainly didn’t count our luck until about 10km out. It was a sensational feeling, the emotions are running high.
“We’ve been here so many times, the boys did a great job on the car, no complaints there, and it’s such a good feeling to win it.
“It was nice having clean air and not having any trouble with other guys or whatever.”
Robinson said now that he had a title under his belt he would be looking forward to a match up against three-time King of the Desert winner Toby Price.
“We would have had a good fight apart from that fan belt last year, and I’m sure he will be back, we will have to work something out,” he said.
The team of Billy Geddes and Brett Comiskey were next to cross the line with a time of 03:33:46.114, six minutes ahead of James Cook.
Geddes took the wheel on the way down on Day 1 and got the side into a nice position for Comiskey to finish off on the home stretch.
The pair have often raced in the United States, and said Finke was right up there with the best race they’ve been a part of.
“It’s unique is the best way to say it, there’s as big bumps out here as there is in San Felipe and in some of the big races in the US,” Geddes said.
“You’re going so fast, like it’s a qualifying run all the way down, if you get a flat tire you are not going to win.”
Cook found some of the challenges on the opening day of the race, flipping three times after hitting a riverbed wall, but still recovered to finish in third.
“Luckily we landed on our wheels and were able to keep going, we lost our GPS but we were driving on what we could see, which is very scary at those speeds,” he said.
“We were fourth off the line, we worked our way through and got up one spot and got on the podium, which was our goal this weekend so to tick that off was huge.”
But while it was elation for the top three, it was heartbreak for supercars legend Craig Lowndes.
Lowndes made it around 35km from Finke in his Chevrolet Silverado ZR2 Off Road Racer before suffering a front suspension issue.
He has been ruled out of the rest of the race.
“The Silverado was tough all weekend, from taking out prologue and line honors to day one, but unfortunately we were beaten by the desert today,” he said.
Lowndes was one of the handful of racers claimed by Finke this year.
Brent Smoothy, who had David Walsh as a co-driver, also dropped out after making it past the Deep Well check point.
Smoothy was hot on Robinson’s tail throughout the whole race – being four minutes behind the race leader at one point – before a tyre mishap put him out of the race on day two.
He got a flat tyre before the 100km mark before changing the tyre, before then copping a hub failure at the last dune just out Alice Springs.
Broken bones, bike and cars - All the Finke Day 1 action
June 9, 3pm: Finke has claimed more victims, as a dark horse favourite is already out in the bike category, while another champion is in a strong position to go five in a row.
Leading the bike category on day one was David Walsh, who was first to Finke with a time of 01:47.36.
“That first 70 I don’t know what it is, seems to be my favourite part, I seem to be extremely fast there every year,” he said.
“Once I caught them it was a big relief and I was able to put it in a bit of autopilot and get here quick and smooth,
“It was actually my plan [to start in the second row], I didn’t want to lead from the front, it’s so hard because you don’t know where anyone is, so it makes it more difficult to track where you are and if you need to push or if you don’t, so I actually prefer starting from behind.”
Callum Norton finished second, crossing the line with a time of 01:50:24 and Korey Mcmahon was third with a time of 01:50:49.
Jack Mentha is out of the race after coming of his bike at camp chaos, with early reports indicating he broke his leg in two places.
Coming over the crest just before the Deep Well checkpoint, Mentha fell victim to the whoops, flying over his handlebars.
Prologue winner Liam Walsh is also completely out the race after a nasty fall at the 72km mark.
Liam Walsh was the leader of the prologue was tipped to potentially take the top spot from his cousin David, who’s on the hunt for his fifth Finke title.
Beau Robinson first to Finke in day one of race, handful already out
June 9 10am: The car category prologue champion has continued his perfect start to Finke, but the competition is hot on his tail as the famed desert race completed the first leg of its journey.
Prologue winner Beau Robinson was the first to cross the line with navigator Shane Hutt, finishing with a time of 01:41.08.
Robinson’s average speed down the track was over 200km/h and had him in good stead to win his first King of the Desert title.
One minute behind with a time of 01:42.31 was Billy Geddes with navigator Corey Cooper, while Brent Smoothy and David Walsh were third across the line with a time of 01:45.06.
However, Robinson was confident he could hold off those competitors on the return trip.
“It’s all right, as long as he starts behind me that’s all that matters, we’ll make sure we get here, he’ll have a hard time getting past so we’ll be right,” he said.
“It [the drive] was good, the first part was a bit misty and foggy, was nice to not have anyone in front of me so could see the whole way, nice to have some clean air.”
Geddes is behind the wheel of reigning champion Toby Price’s truck and praised its performance after he passed five other cars on the way to a podium position.
“It’s a very special truck this one, it turns and gets through the bumps really well, so I just kept giving it what it liked and it just kept going, he said.”
The track has already claimed its first victims, with a handful of drivers already dropping out.
Travis Robinson – who rolled in yesterday’s prologue – has been ruled out.
Driver James Cook made it over the line despite his vehicle copping a beating – rolling three times – finishing with a time 01:47.17 in his buggy.
More than 100 drivers left from the start line this morning, with two not starting the race.
The motorcycles left at 12.00pm, with the first bike expected in Finke about 1.40pm.
Beau Robinson, Liam Walsh seal Prologue wins in 2024 Finke Desert Race
June 8: Liam Walsh has claimed the Prologue victory in the Finke bikes category pipping his four-time King of the Desert cousin David Walsh.
David has been the champion of the past four Finke titles, but in the heavier surface of 2024 it was Liam who set the early marker down after the Prologue.
The KTM rider rode a time of 4:36.298 beating Callum Norton by almost three seconds and pipping his cousin by a further two.
“It feels good, but tomorrow and the next day are another couple of big days so we will have to see how we go with them,” Walsh said.
“My main game plan was to go out and keep it on two wheels, it wasn’t as dusty as previous years, and I was pretty stoked to come out with a pretty clean lap.”
Walsh is looking forward to a fast start to the race knowing he has to start strong and maintain a constant pace all the way to the station to maintain his place.
“At takeoff I will have to see if I can get Callum off the start and just hold a nice, constant pace all the way to Finke and hopefully come out in front.
“David knows he’s fast down the track, so I better keep my rear view mirror ready for him.
“We’re both cheering each other on so it would be good to see either of us win it, and getting first and second would be pretty cool.
Off-road star takes the podium on Prologue Day
Australian off-road star Beau Robinson got the perfect start after posting the best time in the car category on Finke Prologue Day.
Robinson came second to multi-time King of the Desert Toby Price in last year’s Prologue, but with the fan-favourite not in the 2024 edition the space opened up.
The off-road racer, who finished fifth overall in last year’s race, finished with a time of 4:46.874 and an average speed of 1000.3925 to give himself, and navigator Shane Hutt, every advantage heading into the main event.
He also takes home the $2,000 Outright Prologue winner prize after his go around the 8.3km track.
“It’s good to have some clean run after finishing behind Pricey last year,” Robinson said.
“We’re up here to put in the work, as we have been the past 10-15 days back and forth from Perth, so we’re ready.
“The Prologue course is a kind of like motocross dirt, it’s actually quite tough and you can see that with amount of crashes there was out there.”
Carl Haby placed second with a time of 4:49.473, only a short way ahead of the Andrew Brown and Danny Hardman duo who finished with 4:50.990 on their clock.
Meanwhile, Robinson’s brother Travis Robinson crashed and has a lot of ground to make up, as their mind’s turn to the Sunday trip down the track.
“We’re expecting the main track to be pretty good, but there’s not a lot of dust, which doesn’t really work in our favour,” the Prologue winner said.
“We’ve essentially got to do another qualifying on Sunday ahead of Monday’s return, and make sure we cement our place.
“My brother had a moment here so will be starting back in the field, but he’s quick and we’ve got to watch out for that.”
Supercars legend Craig Lowndes and Navigator Dale Moscatt led the Production 4WD class and are due to start the first leg of the 2024 Tatts Finke Desert Race from 74th.
Inaugural Finke women’s winner back to defend crown
June 6, 2024: Territorian Taylah Maurice made history in 2023 when she crossed the finish line at the Finke Desert Race, becoming the winner of the first ever women’s class.
It was a triumphant return to desert racing for the passionate motorsports rider who has ridden motorbikes for more than 20 years.
The race was also a massive moment for women’s motocross across the Territory, proving an inspiration to young up and comers looking to take on the famous race.
It was Maurice’s first year racing in the famous desert race, but despite the new environment she held on to take out the first women’s event.
“It was a big shock, but a lot of fun too and it was quite an empowering experience to be able to prologue with a lot of other women,” she said.
“To have all 19 women finish was phenomenal, and to be the first female class winner was just awesome.
“Finke is so unique, you reach incredibly high speeds and the atmosphere is so different to other races, it’s all about doing our best and all making it to the finish line.
“It’s the best experience racing in the red dirt, and it’s also so unique we can ride across these landscapes you don’t find anywhere else in Australia.”
Maurice said the event had an incredible impact for women in desert racing, and the fact numbers had increased to 20 for 2024 was a sign of progression.
Those competitors include Kathryn Scoble, who will be racing in her ninth Finke this year.
Though Maurice hopes clubs and committees across the Territory will capitalise on the division to help grow the women’s side of the sport.
“Motorbike clubs and committees need to be jumping on this opportunity and creating more hype around the women’s class and give us more exposure,” she said.
“This event has been heavily male dominated for so long and it is such a tough and gruelling race that finishing is an achievement in itself.
“It propelled us women in desert racing forward and hopefully created more exposure for us to hopefully inspire other women to get into it.”
More than anything though her mind is set firmly on the weekend ahead where it the battle will be between her and the desert, as she hunts a second title.
“I’m feeling a lot of nerves and a lot of pressure from myself, but there’s a lot of excitement too,” She said.
“I love this time of year and it’s such an incredibly event for Alice Springs to showcase how beautiful this place really is.
“The biggest thing is headspace, you spend a few hours in your own head going at very fast speeds, and then it’s about having a reliable bike and a strong support team.”
Walsh ready to make mark at Finke
The recent rain in the Red Centre hasn’t stopped training for Finke racers – with one motorcycle racer hoping to jump from fifth to first in this years Finke Desert Race.
Liam Walsh – cousin of last years winner David Walsh – said he’s been racking up the kilometres on his KTM on the track in preparation for the race.
“It’s been pretty dry but this rain is sort of given a little bit of difference to the track,” he said.
“It’s a little bit wet here and there, but I think by time the race comes around it’ll be probably nice and dry again.”
Walsh said he’ll be running some different suspension in this years run, but other than that, his strategy is the same.
“I sort of look at it the same way – just get there and back and then try as best as you can and see where you end up at the end of the day,” he said.
“If I can go a few more spots better than fifth, I’ll be happy with that.”
With his first time cut tragically short when a spectator died in an accident trackside, this will be his third time racing in Finke.
But this year he said he’s stoked to be racing alongside his cousin David.
“So he’s going for five in a row, so yeah for me and all in the family, I hope we really both do well, and it’d be cool to see him go five in a row,” he said.
“We just can’t wait to go racing.”
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