There was an energised vibe to the 2024 Tatts Finke Desert Race. While plenty of naysayers were talking doom and gloom after the less than usual rider entry numbers, an upbeat and atmospheric sizzle flooded Alice Springs in the week leading up to the race.

Persistent rain washed the dust away and the prospect of lining up to a damp desert track had riders and spectators fizzing. It was like a universal energy had everyone humming to the tune of the desert with high octane oxygen fueling excitement for the weekend ahead.

Pre-race festivities were pumping and the Finke street party held in Alice Springs on Thursday was heaving. Fans flooded the streets to catch the Air Time FMX show and to grab an autograph from some of their favorite riders. Iconic Alice watering hole Bojangles Saloon was heaving and the talk of the town was all about defending King of the Desert, David Walsh. With four consecutive Finke wins to his name, could the Alice Springs local make it five in a row and equal the long-standing record set by Randal “The Jet” Gregory who dominated this race on fire-breathing Honda CR500s between 1991 and 1995? It was a tantalizing thought.

FEELING FAST

Approximately 8,000 spectators filed through the gates to catch action of the prologue on Saturday. The line for official Finke merchandise was long and yet again proved Finke is more than a race. It’s a community. People that have been to Finke know what I am saying. And for the riders who have raced it, they feel it. There’s something about the isolation, the dangers and the efforts involved just to get to the start line, let alone the finish that is respectfully recognized.

Generally speaking, setting a fast prologue is vital for the front-runners because it ensures minimal or no dust when they launch from the start on race day. But this year, with rain taking care of track watering duties, it was not so essential. Riders further back could still ride to their potential because they didn’t have the blinding dust that is common with racing Finke. That said, there was no holding back when the lights went green for the prologue.

Liam Walsh blew the doors off everyone aboard his HMG Motorsports KTM 500 EXC-F topping the prologue charts a clear three seconds ahead of STE Racing’s Callum Norton. This meant Norton and Walsh would start the main race together. Walsh’s cousin and defending Finke champ David was third but the big news of the day was ADB’s Chief Bike Tester, Ben “Grabbo” Grabham, was fourth. What the hell Grabbo! You’re old now.

LET LOOSE

2024 Finke race day can make you feel sick with nerves and fidgety with excitement and that’s just for the fans on the sidelines and even those sitting at home watching the live stream. As Liam Walsh and Cal Norton blasted from the start line on Sunday all eyes were on David Walsh who was starting one minute behind. The defending champ simply put the hammer down and did what he does best, catching his cousin and then Norton in the first section to the Deep Well checkpoint and putting a one-minute and four-second buffer on top. The man is an animal.

Shortly after the first checkpoint, Liam Walsh crashed and was forced out the race. Hearing the news over the live feed made me sick because there is no way of knowing exactly what is going on. The isolation is part of what makes Finke so special. It’s what goes on that we cannot see that has you on the edge of your seat.

Of the 324 riders that started the race, 310 made it to Finke. The moisture in the ground was great for minimizing dust but the ground took a beating from the cars and buggies and the track was terribly rough. David Walsh made it look easy though, averaging 122.6kph over the 226km course clocking a time 1:47:36 with a two-minute and 48-second lead over Norton.

The pace was red-hot and Norton really was a man on a mission. What many did not know is that both of Norton’s StegPegz snapped off at the bolts. He must have been really swinging off that KTM.

To give you some perspective, Grabbo averaged 114.5kph reaching Finke in 1:55:16 placing sixth. Our working class man, Jett Hicks was a very respectable 44th on his CRF450R averaging 91.5kph and reaching Finke in 2:24:12. Jett is an electrician from Roma, Queensland and while he shares the same name as another very fast Queenslander who also rides a Honda CRF450R, he pays his own way.

TITLE FIGHT

If you were to script a scenario for 2024 Finke it would have been exactly how it rolled out in real life. Walsh led the charge for the return leg back to Alice Springs on Monday but Norton and McMahon were like two savage dogs chasing a rabbit. Norton and McMahon lit up the desert and put on a charge making up valuable time. McMahon was on the rear wheel of Norton and Norton had made up a lot of time.

When Walsh emerged on the horizon as he closed in on the Alice Springs finish line he looked relaxed and calm. A couple of over-shoulder checks were completely understandable but there was no doubt he was in control. Walsh rounded the final corner and stood up on the ’pegs with his left hand raised in celebration and he soaked in the moment crossing the finish line. The man is now a legend.

Norton had made up two minutes on the ride back to Alice and came thundering across the finish line just 47-seconds after Walsh. McMahon a mere 39-seconds away. For a race that runs over a hellish track that has been beaten to pieces for two days, it was a close and exhilarating finale.

2024 FINKE RESULTS

  1. David Walsh. KTM 500EXC. 3:38:12
  2. Callum Norton. KTM 500EXC. 3:38:59
  3. Korney McMahon. GASGAS EC500. 3:40:04
  4. Corey Hammond. KTM 500EXC. 3:44:46
  5. Luke Hayes. KTM 500EXC. 3:47:23
  6. Ben Grabham. GASGAS EC500. 3:53:25
  7. Kent Collins. KTM 500EXC. 4:02:03
  8. Brodie Waters. Honda CRF450R. 4:02:33
  9. Jay Simister. KTM 500EXC. 4:06:35
  10. Bradley Greenfield. KTM 500EXC. 4:06:54

TO THE FINKE FUTURE

There has been plenty of chatter about the 50th Finke scheduled for 2026. Riders from across the country are making noises about riding the 50th and there’s every reason this will possibly be the biggest Finke ever.  The 40th Finke recorded the highest number of rider entries ever and after the momentum of 2024, numbers are expected to be strong in 2025 as riders begin preparing for the 50th milestone event.

TUNING IN

Here’s a few hot facts from Finke 2024.

  • The Finke live stream attracted plenty of viewers with the trackside commentary team announcing 6,600 viewers were watching online spread across 19 different countries.
  • Approximately half of the competitors were first-time Finke racers.
  • Class 5 (251-450cc four-stroke) was the most popular with 89 riders.
  • Class 6 (35-44 years) and class 7 (45-54 years) both hosted 51 riders each.
  • Class 3 (250cc two-stroke) attracted just seven riders. If you are ever chasing a Finke podium then maybe you need to rock up on a 250cc two-smoker.
  • Warren Strange cleaned up class 8 (over 55 years) and placed 38th outright. An admirable result for a bloke in that age bracket. If you think you’re too old, you’re probably not.
  • Class 8 rider David Casalegno just scraped in a finishing effort, crossing the line with just 15-seconds remaining in the four-hours and thirty-minute time limit.

WORKING CLASS MAN

While David Walsh stole the limelight becoming only the second rider to win Finke five consecutive times, Jett Hicks was quietly notching up his second Finke experience. The young sparky from Roma, Queensland improved on his 2023 result of 63rd to place 45th. Here’s what our working class hero had to say about Finke 2024.

“The track was a lot different this year. There was moisture in the ground so the whoops were still nasty but you could ride them a bit better. But there was a lot of square edge on the fast flat stuff on the ride home. It was nasty. It had gone a bit blue groove in spots on day-one which was nice but the buggies must have pulled it all up and some of it was under sand which was nasty. I hit one of them on the way home so I was on the ’pegs most of the way. I lost a StegPegz bolt at the 200km marker on the way home so I pulled into my fuel stop at the 160km and the old man repaired it to get me home. It wasn’t too bad.

“I came across Daniell Foote who was down around 3km the Finke side of Bundooma. She was worried about her legs so I stayed there for a bit to help as best I could. I went to see the race control after I crossed the line to apply for some compassionate time so I am happy to finish inside the top 50.

“The ride down to Finke was pretty good. Last year the first 40km was crazy and the dust was terrible but this year it was pretty good. I got dust from the 40km to the 80km marker. I had a really good run home so I was disappointed I had a couple of hiccups.  I was feeling pretty good and it was good that there wasn’t much dust because it meant that I could actually race from the word go. I was saying down at Finke I wouldn’t come back but after those couple of hiccups I thought I could have done better than what I did so I will probably come back next year.”

FIVE TIMES KING

David Walsh is now a five-time King of The Desert. Not only that, he joins Randall Gregory as the only other rider to have five consecutive wins. It’s incredibly difficult to win the Finke Desert Race and just as hard to defend a win. To string together five consecutive victories is simply incredible. Here’s Walsh’s take on what went down at Finke 2024.

“I was aiming for tenth in prologue because with the wet dirt, there was no dust and better to hunt than be the hunted. I was surprised I got third in prologue because I just cruised the lap, so it was cool. I don’t know what it is, but the first 70km of the track, I am always fast. I don’t know why or how. I just put my head down and bum up and I caught Liam at 50km and Callum just before the 70Km and then my body just automatically relaxed. It’s weird. I knew I had the minute on the boys so I told myself to just be smart and cruise into Finke.

“The track wasn’t too bad on the first day but the tops of the whoops were wet while the bottoms were dry. I was riding a gear down than what I would normally be, just to manage the danger because the cars had scooped them out so much. Which is what makes the event as cool as it is. You can pre-run the track every day but race day is different and that is why it’s cool.

“I rode at about 90 percent in the first section so that when I got to my first fuel stop the boys could give me my time. They had Starlink setup so they could tell me I made up 14-seconds on Callum to the 180km checkpoint. I new I had ridden hard there so I just cruised home and when I got the 80km mark my fuel stop told me I had 2-minutes and 26-seconds on Callum at Rodinga. I knew he wouldn’t make two-minutes on me in the last section so I just stood up on the ’pegs and pinned it on the straights and hit the whoops slow and just got through them safely.

“The thought of winning entered my mind the whole way home but I just kept telling myself to shut up and look at the track because the track is always trying to kill you. My plan has always been to pin it on the first day and just manage the gap on the second day and bring it home.

“It’s pretty cool to equal Randall Gregory’s record. He is a hero to me so maybe I should hang the boots up? I watched Randall as a kid and Finke was Christmas to me. He was my Ricky Carmichael. I’m old now. I’m fat. I’m bald. I never thought I’d win a race let alone win Finke five times.”

Words | Stephen Tuff

Photos | Dirtcomp