2025 Tatts Finke Desert race underway as hundreds get trackside to catch the action
Camping trackside at an iconic Red Centre race is an ‘awesome experience’, one punter says, as hundreds camp out to catch all the Finke action. Did we snap you? See the gallery.
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Sunday, June 8: The Finke track is littered with campers all vying to catch a glimpse of the action at an iconic desert race.
The Finke Desert race kicked off on Sunday, with cars taking off at 7.30am while the bikes left at 12pm.
The racers are heading south to Aputula (Finke), before they race back to Alice Springs on Monday.
Trackside all the way south are hundreds of campers, who’ve set up to watch the racers – and the thrills and spills – as they come past.
Camper Gary Lawless, from Gippsland in Victoria, said it was an “unreal experience” camping trackside at Finke.
Mr Lawless was one of many perched on the roof of their car next to track, while others choose to stay on the ground in camping chairs.
The camps have some creative names, such as “camp chaos” or “fort goon”, with each featuring a varying amount of punters.
Down at Deep Well, things were a bit more subdued in the morning, with Brooke Moore, Rachael Bentley, and Rachel McGinty stating they were excited for a 10am mass which was due to take place at the checkpoint.
‘It’s vibing’: Finke fever grips the Red Centre
Saturday, June 7: Finke is “vibing”, according to one attendee, as race fever grips the Red Centre capital.
Hundreds of punters have descended on the Finke start line in Alice Springs on Saturday to catch all the action in the prologue.
Punters had come from both the east and the west coast to catch the action, with plenty of Alice Springs locals also turning out.
Kiwi expat Sich Inc said Finke was “vibing” and it was a good event for the town to bring everyone together.
Mr Inc was joined by Kemp Silver, who’d been living in Alice for the last 13 years but said it was his first time coming to the race.
“I’ve always been too busy,” he said with a laugh.
Others were out showing support for mates who were having a crack in this year’s Finke, such as Kodi Horan, who said her aunty was racing on a motorbike this year.
Coming all the way from the WA wheatbelt town of Merredin to support Dennis Duncan and Gary Povah was Brad, Xavier, and Kobi Sayers.
The trio said it was the pair’s first crack at the race in a car, and were confident they’d “crack the top twenty”.
Meanwhile, Alice Springs locals Anita Suich and Abby Cochrane had also come down.
Ms Suich said it was her daughters first time in the race, while Ms Cochrane said her mum came every year and was “addicted to motorsport” – a point Ms Suich laughingly agreed to.
Punters had come from all over Australia to catch the all the action, with Andrew Gallagher and Steven Porch coming to Alice from Gippsland via the Oodnadatta track.
Wayne Looney, from Ballarat, said it was his first time coming to Finke, and had a simple mantra for the weekend: “I’m just gonna have fun and few beers,” he said with a big grin.
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Originally published as 2025 Tatts Finke Desert race underway as hundreds get trackside to catch the action
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