REPORT – 2022 FINKE DESERT RACE WORDS Mike Ryan PHOTOS Red Bull Content Pool, Terry Hill Photography and Dakar Press Team Australia
PRICE GOES BACK-TO-BACK AT FINKE Second win in car category achieved in a new record time.
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fter taking his first King of the Desert crown in the car category at the Tatts Finke Desert Race in 2021, Toby Price was victorious again in the 2-day off-road race this year, setting a new record time in the process. Last year, Price made Finke history as the first competitor to win both the car and bike categories, The New South Welshman’s first victory in the car category came after six in the bike category between 2010 and 2018. For 2022, Price re-united with navigator Jason Duncan in the unique, V8-powered TSCO Mitsubishi Trophy Truck, after Mark Dutton filled the role in 2021. Duncan had previously partnered Price for unsuccessful attempts in the car category at Finke in 2018 and 2019.
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NEW RULES All 165 starting slots in the car category for the 2022 BF Goodrich Motorsport Australia Off Road Championship (AORC) - had been filled a day after entries opened on 1 March, despite new rules instigated following the death of a spectator at last year’s event. The new rules required drivers to have past Finke experience, or completion of at least two AORC rounds in the past two years, or meet other criteria on a 100-point checklist to assess driver skill levels. Similar minimum standards for entry also applied to the bike category his year, with quad bikes banned altogether. New rules applied to spectators, too, including being no closer than 20 metres to the track, while spectator vehicles, structures and camping were required to be at least 30 metres off the racing line.
winners Glenn Owen and Hayden Bentley, the six-time winning father and son pairing of Ian and Shannon Rentsch, as well as Mark Burrows, Jack Rhodes and AORC championship leader Ryan Taylor, most of whom were in the Pro or Prolite buggy classes. Within the Extreme 2WD class, Price could expect competition from the similar Trophy Trucks of Beau Robinson, Greg Gartner and five-time Finke winner David Fellows.
STRONG COMPETITION While much of the pre-race attention was on defending champion Price, there was a strong field looking to make the 2022 King of the Desert crown theirs, including last year’s runner-up Josh Howells, past
Price (right) and Duncan’s winning 2022 Finke campaign started with a narrow victory in the Prologue.
