PRICE GOES BACK-TO-BACK AT FINKE

FAST STARTS AND A TOUGH DAY 1

After scrutineering on Friday, 10 June, the Method Race Wheels Prologue the following day saw Price set the fastest time of 4m42.9s, ahead of Howells by just two tenths of a second, with Aaron James, Robinson and Owen completing the top five. AORC leader Taylor was twelfth.

Winning the 8km Prologue gave Price the prime Number 1 starting position for the 224km run from Alice Springs to Aputula (Finke), avoiding the choking dust that those further back in the starting order would have to deal with.

Flagged away at 7:30AM on Sunday, 12 June, Price and Duncan would complete the first leg on the red dirt in a record time of one hour, 36 minutes and 38 seconds. Next best was James in the Alumicraft Pro buggy, 5m5.6s slower, with Prolite entrant Brent Martin ( Jimco buggy) third, a further 1m12.3s in arrears.

Tyler Owen (Alumicraft Pro Buggy) was fourth fastest, followed by the Rentschs ( Jimco Pro buggy), Bentley (4WD Trophy Truck) and Gartner (Geiser 2WD Trophy Truck), with Jake Swinglehurst ( Jimco Pro buggy), Toby Whateley (Loveday Rush 2WD Truck) and Brent Smoothy (Geiser 2WD Trophy Truck) completing the top ten.

As in past Finkes, the attrition rate was high this year, with 41 starters failing to reach Aputula, some after completing only a handful of kilometres. These included Howells and winner of the previous AORC round, Shane Elphinstone ( Jimco Pro buggy). Taylor finished well down the order due to multiple punctures, while Robinson was one of the last to roll into Aputula.

STEADY RUN TO VICTORY

After previous failed attempts, Price knew he didn’t have the win in the bag until he’d completed Day 2’s 224km return run to Alice Springs on Monday, 13 June. And even with a five-minute buffer, he’d have to drive fast as well as smart.

That proved to be just what Price did, allowing James to set the fastest time on the return leg. But even with almost three minutes of his lead conceded to the Pro buggy entrant, he and Duncan still won the overall with a total time of 3 hours, 21 minutes and 46.2 seconds – a new outright record at Finke.

“We’re stoked and it was a good run back,” Price said. “We didn’t push, we didn’t do anything crazy. I just can’t thank my crew enough for all their efforts.

Aaron James, one of the few Finke competitors this year to run without a navigator, finished second overall. Being the first away meant Price avoided the dust for the bulk of each day’s 224km run.

“We had a really good run yesterday, and the hardest part is that you don’t know what’s going on behind you. You push really hard, and the boys have done a great job with the truck... everything has turned out really good.”

James was 2 minutes, 8.9 seconds behind Price on overall time, with Martin third ahead of Rentsch. Tyler Owen, Bentley, Swinglehurst, Smoothy, Gartner and Kent Battle (Element Prodigy Pro buggy) completed the top ten. Taylor finished in 20th place overall.

Price’s second win in the car category follows six in the bike category. A strong result for Jake and Kate Swinglehurst saw them inherit the AORC championship lead.

A further 28 entrants failed to finish on Day 2, including Whateley and veteran off-road racer Geoff Pickering (Production 4WD Pajero). Of the 165 starters, only 82 completed both days.

NEW LEADER

In the AORC, Swinglehurst is the new championship leader, replacing Taylor at the top of the points table after three rounds. Brett Comiskey (Geiser Trophy Truck) is third overall in the championship, ahead of Rentsch and Smoothy.

The next round of the Australia Off Road Championship is the Can-Am Loveday 400 in South Australia on 30-31 July.