Car entries for the 2018 Tatts Finke Desert Race will open on Wednesday 4 April, with only 150 spots up for grabs in the iconic out-and-back race.
Bike entries, which opened on 28 January, have already been filled, with 650 competitors registering in just five hours.
The Tatts Finke Desert Race will host round two of the BFGoodrich CAMS Australian Off Road Championship (AORC), playing host to Australia’s very best off road racers and machinery.
In 2017, 138 stepped up to race through the desert country from Alice Springs to Finke and back, covering 460 kilometres on some of the toughest terrain in Australia. With the race growing in popularity every year, car entries are almost certain to hit the 150 mark in 2018.
First run in 1976 as a ‘there and back’ challenge for a group of local motorbike riders to race, the Tatts Finke Desert Race is now one of the biggest annual sporting events in the Northern Territory. It is recognised as the richest off road race in Australia with the added reputation of being one of the most difficult courses in one of the most remote places in the world.
Entrants compete for the ‘King of the Desert’ titles, for the first driver and first rider.
When cars were first included in the event in 1988 there was only one ‘King of the Desert’ title and a fierce rivalry developed between riders and drivers. For 11 consecutive years, bikes were fastest until a buggy returned home first in 1999. Bikes were again quickest in 2000 and 2001 before buggies took the honours in 2002 to 2004. In 2005, the title was changed to see two ‘Kings of the Desert’, one for the cars and one for bikes, each picking up prize money.
Entry details and supplementary regulations for the 2018 Tatts Finke Desert Race are available here.
Round one of the BFGoodrich CAMS AORC will be held at the St George 399 in south-west Queensland on 4-6 May. Entry Form and Supplementary Regulations are available here.
Registration for the BFGoodrich CAMS AORC can be completed here.
