Western Australian Travis Robinson, alongside his navigator Paul Currie, has been crowned the Kings of the Desert for 2025 after a remarkable victory at the Tatts Finke Desert Race.
After years of competing in Australia’s premier off-road event, including a moment where Robinson stepped away from the Finke race due to the heartbreak of losing while leading, he finally triumphed in challenging conditions on Monday morning, clocking a total race time of 03:24.35.
It was a significant day for the Robinson family, as Travis’ brother, Beau Robinson, and his navigator Shane Hutt secured second place overall with a time of 03:29.14, achieving a memorable 1-2 finish.
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“I was hearing all sorts of noises from the car in the last 100 kays, and I took it really carefully through the final corners,” remarked Travis. “It’s just incredible.”
His brother Beau added, “There’s no other person I’d prefer to hand the King of the Desert crown to. It’s a monumental achievement to finish first and second; it’s never been done before and I doubt anyone will do it again. To have both cars finish strong and dominate throughout the event is a dream.”
Travis capitalised on a three-minute overnight lead, effectively managing the race during the 225km trek from Aputula (Finke) to Alice Springs on Monday morning. With a revised starting order and Beau following closely behind, the Robinson brothers were confident of securing the 1-2 finish as long as they maintained clear air ahead.
The podium was completed by Kiwi rising star Boston Morgan-Horan and his navigator Will Haddock, who finished the approximately 450km round trip in 03:30.06.
Initially sitting in fourth overnight behind Billy Geddes, Morgan-Horan quickly closed the gap before a massive end-to-end rollover saw Geddes’ race unexpectedly end. Fortunately, both the driver and navigator were confirmed to be okay.
For Morgan-Horan, securing a podium finish in his first Finke race is a dream come true.
“It feels pretty amazing, I’m really pumped about it,” he shared.
“I want to come back and win it now; the track is incredible to drive on.
“I was aiming to catch Billy and get right behind him, and I hope he’s alright. We hit the same hole and landed near him, I was lucky to avoid hitting him.”
Taking fourth place was the leading buggy contestant, Michael Zacka in a Pro Buggy, followed by John Towers (Prolite), Jared Percival (Pro Buggy), Andy Brown (Pro Buggy), Roydn Bailey (Pro Buggy), Hayden Bentley (Extreme 4WD), and Mark Burrows (Pro Buggy) rounding out the top ten.
The 49th running of Finke did not disappoint, with nearly half of the 104 registered entrants unable to complete the full race distance, resulting in significant upsets across categories.
In the SXS category, New South Welshman Kane Jones delivered a significant surprise by clinching top spot with navigator Jeremy Kempston in a Polaris Pro R.
Despite experiencing mechanical issues that required more than 10 minutes of stoppage, overnight leaders Jeff McNiven and navigator Jake Nicholson managed to retain second in the SXS class.
“That was the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life; the whoops were massive, it was rough, and the last 40km really challenged us,” stated Jones. “I’m blown away, it’s taken years to get to this point.
“I’m quite inexperienced compared to many of the other SXS competitors. My previous car was sub-par, and I literally built this one myself in the shed. No one else has worked on it, and competing against such skilled drivers and achieving this result is just thrilling.”
Meanwhile, the Ford-supported Ranger Raptor team of Brad Lovell and his son Adam Lovell secured their third consecutive victory in the Production 4WD class, finishing a commendable 43rd overall.
As another unforgettable Finke weekend wraps up, the off-road community now turns its sights towards the third round of the BFGoodrich Motorsport Australia Off Road Championship, set to take place at Loveday in South Australia from July 26-27.
Compiled by SportArena.com.au.
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