Kendall Jennings, The Koondrook and Barham Bridge Newspaper

Before the tragedy struck at the 2021 Tatts Finke Desert Race, Barham local Riley Duncan piloted his motorcycle, a KTM500, to the 40th fastest time in Class Two of the Prologue with a six-minute 17.4 second time. His time was one minute and thirty seconds behind the class leader, Victorian Jack Simpson. 

The first leg of the desert race from Alice Springs to Finke followed the old rail route near the most centre point of Australia – 226 kilometres of brutal Australian terrain, on the edge of the Simpson Desert, surrounded by mountain ranges and rock formations. Riley Duncan made it to Finke after two hours, 44 minutes and 32.5-second journey finishing in forty-seventh place in Class Two and was the 161st bike to arrive at Finke. To arrive at Finke is an accomplishment on its own. However, to return to Alice Springs, competitors are known as survivors of Finke. Veteran Finke king, David Walsh, won the class and outright with one hour, 45 minutes and 34.9 seconds. Competitors work on their machines overnight for the return trip to Alice Springs the following day.

Day two, the Finke started well. Toby Price finally removed the monkey off his back, making Finke and back to Alice on four wheels and winning the event outright in a car for the first time. However, his race win was overshadowed by an event accident where a competitor hit spectators 35 kilometres from the finish line. A sixty-year-old man died on the scene while two others were taken to hospital. The remaining race was cancelled, which meant the bike class did not return from Finke under racing conditions.

Finke Desert Race committee president, Antony Yoffa, made this comment on social media. “We extend our deepest sympathies and condolences to the family, friends and all those who have been impacted by this incident. We appreciate the efforts of all officials and volunteers across the weekend and commend the patience and understanding of competitors and spectators during this challenging time. On behalf of the Finke Desert Race committee, I’d also like to acknowledge the work of emergency services and first responders across the weekend.” As investigations remain ongoing, the committee will not be making any further comment.

The Finke Desert Race committee runs a great event, an event that is a must to attend for any revhead. Not only will you bring back the reddest sand of central Australia in your clothes, you’ll always have a place for the Finke Desert Race in your heart.

This article appeared in The Koondrook and Barham Bridge Newspaper, 17 June 2021.