A tribute to the diehard enthusiasts of Alice Springs, who nurtured a trail ride to a remote outback pub into the fastest desert race on the planet, as the fabulous Finke hits the half century. Can Honda reclaim the Red Centre in 2026?
The Alice Springs Motor Cycle Touring Club was a social group, organising the occasional ride up the narrow strip of blacktop to the Aileron Roadhouse for a beer or three, before the often death defying ride back to Alice. With the release of trail bikes such as the Yamaha DT1, the club quickly established a venue to suit the new dirtshifters.
By the early 70s, when enthusiasm for events such as the ‘Mexican Motocross’ and ‘Follow The Toilet Roll’ began to wane, club members Peter Gunner and Barry Taylor proposed that a trail ride from Emily Gap to the Orraminna Rockhole would be a bloody good idea – especially followed by a ute full of eskies. They were right. And it wasn’t long before these trail rides became competitive.
The remote settlement at Finke was considered an even better destination. There was a track of sorts and, most importantly, a pub. Following the railway line shouldn’t be too difficult even for the most geographically challenged; however, with the Ghan still in operation, the fettler’s camps posed a real hazard, as did the amount of trackside detritus concealed in the spinifex. The only other recognisable features were the remains of the Overland Telegraph Line, which provided perfect track markers when festooned with bright orange triangles of plastic sheeting.
Scrutineering consisted of no more than a subjective opinion as to whether the bike appeared capable of lasting the distance and the rider had enough coin for a shout at the bar. With sketchy radio comms provided by the Alice Springs Amateur Radio Group and a solo ex-army LWB Landy as sweep, a shotgun blast sent the riders on their way.
Simply called the ‘There and Back’, the format couldn’t have been simpler. A thirst-building three-hour ride down to Finke, followed by an evening spent honouring balladeer Ted Egan’s anthem ‘We’ve Got Some Bloody Good Drinkers in the Northern Territory’. As the winner Geoff Curtis later recalled: “We got pissed, slept where we fell then rode back with splitting headaches.”
The news spread quickly and, in no time at all, interstate riders turned up to show the locals a thing or two. It took no less than Australia’s first Gold ISDE winner Phil Lovett to temporarily overcome the local talent. But it was local star Geoff Curtis, winner of three of the first five editions, who Lovett begrudgingly acknowledged as the best enduro rider in Australia. The intense rivalry between the Territorians and the Rest of the World continued, and Aussie MX champion Craig Dack was tipped to blitz the 1987 Finke – but it was local Honda CR500 rider Alan Roe who had an unbeatable lead when his mousse melted, allowing Queensland MX champion Dave Armstrong to become the first rookie ‘King of the Desert’ – giving Kawasaki its only victory in Finke history.
THE LOCALS PAINT THE TOWN RED
Roe took his revenge the following year in the first of an unprecedented 14 wins for the Honda CR500 – a machine that detractors claimed was a demonic, brutal, uncontrollable beast. That didn’t prevent local Honda dealer Randall Gregory from claiming five consecutive wins. “The CR500 was bulletproof,” Gregory told AMCN. “The only problem was that everyone had the same equipment, including my teammate Stephen Greenfield. The only solution was to experiment with infinite adjustments to the gear ratios to build a faster bike, then keep the ratios a secret.
“It was no secret,” Greenfield maintained. “You just had to ride that much closer to the trees and the rocks, continuously practising the sections where it was possible to take a road racing line with confidence.” Greenfield never bested Gregory in any of their several clashes – so maybe there really was a secret. Greenfield continued Honda’s winning streak with three wins on the CR500; followed by a further two wins on the Honda CRF450 as four-strokes seamlessly replaced the oil burners on the top step of the podium. Locals Jason Hill and Ryan Branford maintained Honda’s domination in 2005 and 2006, possibly unaware they had just bested the bloke who was about to turn the Finke Desert Race on its head.
PAPAYA RULES
Ben Grabham rode into town in 2005, scored a podium the following year, took back-to-back victories in 2007/8 then switched to a papaya hued KTM 505 XC-F in 2009 – long before Oscar Piastri got his kart licence. No longer was a Territorian ‘King of the Desert’, nor was the Honda two-stroke a serious contender. From that point, Grabham and his teammate Toby Price ruled with a series of record-breaking victories – despite a deteriorating track that was becoming more and more hazardous year on year.
With a total of four podiums to his credit, Alice Springs builder David Walsh was never far from the action, so when KTM ‘officially’ folded their tent in 2018, it seemed certain that Walsh would claim the victory.
The Covid-19 pandemic voided the event in 2020, which allowed the organisers sufficient leeway to grade the worst sections of the track. Then, in 2021, the tragic death of a spectator terminated the second leg, but not before Walsh had shattered the record for the ride to Finke on the freshly graded surface.
There were no surprises when Walsh set a race record time in 2022 – one that still stands – then completed a threepeat in 2023/4. What was astonishing was his retirement on the eve of the 2025 event, an event in which he might have matched the all-time record of Toby Price.
‘HONDA TARGETS VICTORY AT FINKE’
Such were the headlines two months in advance of the 50th anniversary of the Finke Desert Race. This appeared to be a rather ambitious target considering that, for more than a decade, no 450 machine has come close to the times set by the KTM 500. The only winners ever to crack the four-hour barrier on a 450 were Ben Grabham and Toby Price on the KTM 450 SX-F. Though, digging deeper, you’ll find that David Walsh was riding a Honda CRF450R when he finished a very close second to Price in 2014. Since then, Honda’s best has been Brodie Waters with a 4hr 01min for a podium finish in 2025. A crash that fractured his C7 vertebrae prevented Brodie from challenging for the lead but his race time demonstrated that the latest Honda CRF450WRE has the pace to match KTM.
Luring Walsh out of retirement and back onto a Honda took no more than a test ride and a quick agreement about his suspension preferences. “The bike is a winner,” Walsh told AMCN, “and I aim to give Honda its first victory since 2013.”
Impressed by the Honda platform after his Baja experience, 2025 Finke winner Corey Hammond was quick to sign on to the Peter Kittle-sponsored outfit under the management of Colin Ross, who declared: “David Walsh, Corey Hammond and Brodie Waters are unmatched, the technicians and support crew all know their roles. We will be prepared. We will be organised. And our goal is to win.”
KATO: STILL THE ONE
With seven consecutive victories, the KTM 500 EXC-F remains the weapon of choice for top-10 privateers such as Campbell Hall, Luke Hayes and Mitchell Outram – all of whom, in recent years, have been squabbling over the final step on the podium.
With full backing from KTM, Jason Stewart has signed on Liam Walsh and Kodi Stephens to represent STE Engineering. Both riders have broken the four-hour barrier in the past but Walsh has been laid off in rehab and may not be match fit. Stephens may struggle to do better than his top-five result in 2025.
It is openly acknowledged that the six-speed Kato 500 – which has been electronically timed at 186km/h – can comfortably cruise at more than 170km/h, well below the rev limiter. This is certainly an advantage over the more MX-oriented Honda 450. All that is academic as it is difficult to find riders who can claim to have ridden a KTM 500EXC-F at top speed, or ‘cruised’ at better than a ton-and-a-half… even on the blacktop.
DUCATI WILDCARD
Callum Norton agrees he surprised himself by signing on with Joe Rascal Racing to ride a Ducati Desmo 450 MX in the 50th edition of the Finke. “We’d scored two podiums with STE Engineering and only a virus prevented a third podium in 2025. So if anyone was due for a win, it was us,” Norton told AMCN. “But I just couldn’t get the thought of racing a Ducati out of my mind. And Joe Rascal already had a plan to develop the motocrosser into a desert racer; the first Ducati ever to race Finke.”
It is a leap into the unknown for Norton, his long-time tech Scott Watts and newly appointed team manager Brett Metcalfe. Everything had to be custom made; an 18-inch wheel to suit a 140-section Michelin Desert, milling a steering damper from an aluminium billet, modifying Stegz Pegz and sourcing an IMS fuel tank and Akropovic exhaust from the US.
A totally different breed of bike and an inexperienced crew, facing the toughest test of man and machine in Australia. What could go wrong? The initial pre-runs in late April put the Ducati well into the frame according to Metcalfe. Then again, he would say that.
RECORD ENTRY
Stacked field turns the 50th Finke into an instant classic before the flag has even dropped
The Finke’s big birthday has reawakened enthusiasm from a host of former competitors and doubled the number of bucket-listers, encouraging the organisers to expand the entry list to 750 motos. One month out from the start there was already a list of 778 applicants. These included seven former ‘Kings of the Desert’ plus a multitude of podium winners. Also included was multi-time 24 Hour Trial winner Shane Diener; Australian Safari winners Todd and Jake Smith; 62-year-old Dakar veteran Warren Strange riding a Spanish AJP510; Zach Hookway riding an Arctic Leopard; a woman named Kevin aboard a TM; and a very optimistic Kawasaki rider.
No doubt this list will be trimmed back to 750 before the start. And will be trimmed even further on the track down to Apatula (Finke). The course is reported as being in the worst condition since the Covid-19 upgrade. As always, it is the track that will determine who will become the 50th ‘King of the Desert’. Watch this space.
