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.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة August 2023 من 4x4 Magazine Australia.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
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هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة August 2023 من 4x4 Magazine Australia.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
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