THERE AND BACK

FORD PERFORMANCE TAKES ON AUSTRALIA'S MOST ICONIC OFF-ROAD RACE WITH ITS DAKARWINNING RANGER RAPTOR

- MATT RAUDONIKIS

IT IS REGARDED as one of Australia’s toughest off-road races and is renowned around the world for its remote location, red sandy tracks and wild, high-speed action.

The Finke Desert Race was first run back in 1976 when a bunch of local Alice Springs motorcyclists challenged each other to see who could ride the quickest along the old Ghan Railway service road to the township of Finke (Aputula) – around 230km south of Alice Springs – and back again.

Motorcyclists had been running thereand-back style races out of Alice for decades as the desert country and remote locations outside of the town posed a tough challenge for any competitor, but the ’76 run to Finke and back marked the beginning of a new chapter in the world of Australian off-road racing.

The Finke Desert Race has been run on the Queen’s Birthday (now the King’s) weekend in June ever since, with a few exceptions when it couldn’t be held.

Four-wheeled vehicles soon joined the bikes, and simple VW-based buggies evolved into purpose-built, highperformance vehicles, some with more than 800hp and able to make the run to Finke in less than three hours … quicker than any motorcycle.

The Finke track follows the now-disused Ghan Railway line and was originally constructed for vehicular access to service the railway. With the railway long gone, this rough service road now makes the perfect b-line track out of town, and its loose sand, corrugations, whoops and jumps put even the most well-built offroad racing machines to the test, with many failing in spectacular fashion.