Tragedy halts 2021 Finke Desert Race as Walsh declared winner

The 45th running of the Finke Desert Race has been claimed by defending champ, David Walsh, after the return leg to Alice Springs was cancelled following a tragic incident earlier in the day.

Alice Springs local Walsh proved he was class above the rest of the 542 competitors, recording a blistering time of 1:45:34 over the 226km course from Alice Springs down to Finke.

But for the first time in the event’s history, the race was stopped after a spectator was reportedly killed in an incident during the running of the car division.

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With the bike competitors yet to start the second day of racing, the decision was made to cancel to allow officials and authorities to conduct appropriate actions. The cancellation meant that the results from Sunday’s first leg would stand as final.

The 2021 edition of the race will go down in history for a few reasons. Unpredictable COVID-19 restrictions played havoc with entrants in the weeks preceding the race. Another outbreak of the virus in Victoria left riders scrambling to cross the border much earlier than originally planned to avoid lockdown. Many were forced to cancel their race effort all together. Of the 650 rider entries filed, 543 made it to the start line.

The event started in spectacular style with the official prologue on Saturday to determine the start order for the race. The typically dusty conditions of the desert emphasized the importance of a high starting position. Victorian rider Jack Simpson blitzed the prologue in a time of 4:47, four seconds clear of Walsh, however this would be the only time the Husqvarna rider would have the better of Walsh.

When the lights went green on Sunday, Walsh and Simpson engaged in a torrid battle for the first few kilometers before Walsh took command and set about riding his own race in dominant fashion. At the first checkpoint, 68km from the start, Walsh was in control with a 50 second lead over Simpson. Walsh had extended his lead to three-minutes at the third checkpoint at 140km and when he roared across the line at Apatula, after crossing the Finke River, Walsh had clocked in incredible time of 1:45:43, a whopping 4 minutes and 23 seconds clear of Simpson.

The race for the minor placings was hot with Husqvarna-mounted Beau Ralston from NSW clocking a time just 33 seconds off Simpson. It was a further 3 minutes back to South Australian Rick Ireland but it was mighty tight between the riders fighting for fifth to ninth place with just 33-seconds between them.

The incredibly fast race times were the result of required track works in the off-season leaving the brutal 226km course relatively flat in comparison to previous years. The infamous whoops that used to stretch for tens of kilometers across multiple sections was greatly reduced. It was far from smooth sailing, however, with much of the course dishing up choppy sharp-edged holes.

While Walsh claimed his second Finke crown in dominating fashion, it was six-time Finke bike winner Toby Price who blitzed the car division, becoming the only competitor to have won both the bike and car divisions.

2021 Finke Desert Race Bike Results: