Ducati premieres Mission: Un-Finkeable short film in Sydney
Can a near-stock Ducati DesertX survive the abuse handed out by a non-stop, 460km loop of the Finke Desert Race track?If you know anything about off-road racing in this country, you will have heard of the Finke Desert Race.
It’s a high-speed blast through the Red Centre from Alice Springs to the Apatula community (also known as Finke) and back again, with an overnight stop in between for food, fuel and tales of derring-do.
The 460km round trip is renowned for its speed and difficulty, and has been won in the past by the likes of Dakar legend Toby Price. Most of the machines involved are specifically built for the task and race footage would not look out of place in any of the Mad Max movies, such is the nature of the landscape and vehicles.
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Imagine then taking an almost bog-stock Ducati DesertX and doing the whole thing, there and back, in one day, with no stops and no refuelling.
That was the idea of Ducati Australia’s Head of Marketing, Alana Baratto, and bikesales was recently invited to the premiere of the short film that documents the adventure titled Mission: Un-Finkeable. Created by the talented team at Flightcraft, the 20-minute documentary captures all the action from one of the most spectacular landscapes in the world.
To be clear, the ride took place about a week after the actual race, so renowned adventure rider Nick Selleck had the well-abused track to himself. That is apart from a chase helicopter shooting the whole event which, by the look of the film, spent the majority of its time hanging about a foot off his shoulder. Very spectacular flying.
Some genuine Ducati optional accessories were fitted before Nick set off, including a bash plate, exhaust system, crash bars, and most importantly an 8L auxiliary underseat fuel tank to complement the standard 21L item. A few tweaks of the suspension clickers and he was ready to go.
The Finke track consists of near constant whoops the size of cars and the reddest red dirt you can imagine, leaving little time for the rider to grab some respite from standing on the ’pegs.
What it does provide is a hugely dramatic backdrop to what turned out to be a great test of both man and machine.
Did he make it? Did the bike survive? Did he run out of fuel? Check out the 20-minute documentary below to find out...
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