NT MACC ‘wholly discontinues’ court case over 2021 Finke Desert Race crash

Legal action against Finke Desert Race over a crash – which killed one man and left another with ‘multiple lower body fractures’ – has been withdrawn.

Trophy Truck #499 as it suffers suspension failure and heads towards Nigel Harris in the moments before his death at the 2021 Finke Desert Race. Picture: NT Courts

Legal action against Finke Desert Race over a crash – which killed one man and left another with “multiple lower body fractures” – has been withdrawn from the Territory’s highest court.

In November, the Territory’s Motor Accidents Compensation Commission dropped legal action against Confederation of Australian Motor Sports (now Motorsport Australia) and Finke race organisers.

A notice stating the MACC “wholly discontinues” the legal action was filed in the Supreme Court on November 18.

Trophy Truck #499 as it suffers suspension failure and heads towards Nigel Harris in the moments before his death at the 2021 Finke Desert Race. Picture: NT Courts

The commission first filed legal action in the Supreme Court against the race organisers and the motorsport governing body in August this year over the 2021 crash which killed spectator Nigel Harris.

Mr Harris, from Canberra, was killed at the 35km sand dune when Trophy Truck #499 had a suspension failure, sending the truck off course and into the crowd.

In the commission’s writ, spectator Robert Mudd was also injured in the incident, suffering “multiple lower body fractures” and “requiring multiple internal fixations and total hip replacement surgery”.

It further claimed both Finke Desert Race Inc (FDRI) and Motorsport Australia took limited steps to discourage spectators from standing too close to the track, despite knowing the risk.

Nigel Harris. Picture: Facebook.

In 2023, Coroner Elisabeth Armitage delivered her findings from an inquest into the death of Mr Harris.

Mr Harris worked for the Australian Border Force and had retired two years before his death, Ms Armitage said in her findings.

She found race organisers had identified an “extreme” risk for “multiple deaths” in 2019.

However, the coroner said “it is not clear what, if any, action FDRI took to address the identified risks before the race ran in June 2019”.

In 2023, race organisers implemented a minimum spectator setback of 30m.

Finke Desert Race and Motorsport Australia were contacted for comment and did not respond by deadline.

Originally published as NT MACC ‘wholly discontinues’ court case over 2021 Finke Desert Race crash