A taste of the Finke

By PADDY WEIR

With less than a month until Finke, the Janda Carpenters & Builders Brekky Bash was the last opportunity for local and interstate club members to test and tune their race cars for the Big One.

Competitors, capped at 25 entries, had the chance to see the prologue track before the nerves of the King’s Birthday weekend.

The Alice Springs Offroad Race Club hosts the event, organising a local coffee van and holding a BBQ on Mother’s Day morning.

There were 11 entrants from interstate and the rest were locals. Interstate crews can be huge, the Westlime team from NSW alone brought more than 10 people to support their two Extreme 4WD vehicles as they put in laps.

There were Finke entrants from SA, Victoria, QLD, NSW and WA, including defending King of the Desert Beau Robinson in car 413.

Also spotted at the event was filmmaker Warwick Thornton and others who are currently filming the sequel Wolfram to the 2017 movie Sweet Country.

They were there in support of car 485, driven by Dylan McDonald.

I have not raced Finke for several years; the prologue track seemed rougher and the whoops bigger.

There has also been a change to the prologue track out the back and it was good to get a glimpse of this.

The only negative was the dusty conditions and after the decent rain in March, the flies are the worst I have ever seen.

Car entrant numbers for Finke this year are not as high as previously with 107 entries.

It seems many might be holding out for the 50th next year.

The biggest classes are side by side, with 40 alone in the SXS Pro.

Pro buggy entries are high with 26 entries, but only six entries in Prolite buggy and four in Super 1650.

There are two classes with no entries at all: Sportsman Buggy and Performance 2WD.

As a competitor I know that getting there and back in this gruelling event is an achievement in itself.

PHOTO Kate Addison.