Brothers Travis and Beau Robinson from Western Australia are set to begin the 2025 Tatts Finke Desert Race in first and second positions, respectively, following their impressive performances in the Method Race Wheels Prologue on Saturday morning.
Travis clocked a remarkable lap time of 04:43.254 on the eight-kilometre prologue track, surpassing Beau by four seconds and ensuring he has a clear path when the race begins from Alice Springs to the remote community of Aputula (also known as Finke) on Sunday morning.
This year, Travis has upgraded to a 4WD Extreme Trophy Truck after several years in his Pro Buggy. The new vehicle has certainly made a strong impact right from the start.
“It’s a completely different setup compared to what we’re accustomed to, so we had to get used to the braking distances on the Prologue course and a few other factors. But we’re thrilled to have taken the Prologue win,” said Travis.
“We only received this new truck a week and a half ago; we had to pick it up from the plane and there were plenty of late nights and adjustments for the crew, but we managed to get it ready.”
Defending champion Beau Robinson completed the prologue in a time of 04:47.533, narrowly fending off Kiwi talent Boston Morgan-Horan, who finished just a second behind.
The Robinsons have set their sights on having both of their Trophy Trucks on the podium at the conclusion of the 49th annual Finke event.
“We’ve been aiming to win this race for a long time. I’ve come close several times and actually took a break from the event for six or seven years, only returning a couple of years ago,” Travis explained.
“Our objective for this weekend is to see both trucks finish on the podium.”
The Prologue saw Trophy Trucks and Pro Buggy entries dominate the leaderboard, with Nick Commins (Extreme 2WD), Josh Howells (Pro Buggy), Brett Comiskey (Extreme 2WD), John Towers (Pro Buggy), Kye Camilleri (Pro Buggy), Nic Hicks (Pro Buggy), and Kent Battle (Pro Buggy) completing the top ten.
A notable surprise emerged in the SXS class, where South Australian Lachlan Bailey claimed the top spot in his category with a time of 05:08.778, positioning him 13th overall.
Bailey’s impressive performance means he will line up ahead of seasoned competitors such as Brent Smoothy, Ryan Taylor, and Jared Percival, who compete in the Trophy Truck and Pro Buggy classes. He also outpaced his nearest SXS rival, Zac Marsh, by seven seconds.
As Finke serves as the second round of the five-stop BFGoodrich Motorsport Australia Offroad Championship, Bailey is keen to adopt a measured approach during Sunday’s race day one.
“It’s going to be very dusty, but being higher up in the standings means we’ll have some fast competitors around us. We’ll see how it unfolds,” Bailey shared.
“Our strategy is to get to Finke in one piece. With this new vehicle, I’m not sure how it will handle the big whoops, so my goal is to familiarise myself with the car and see what I can accomplish.”
Current points leader in the 2025 BFGoodrich Motorsport Australia Offroad Championship, Dale Martin, is absent from Finke this weekend, creating a prime opportunity for championship runner-up Danny Brown, who will start the race from 19th.
The Method Race Wheels Prologue wasn’t without its troubles for the Pro Buggy entry of Andy Brown (Danny’s father) and Daniel Hardman, who experienced a rollover approximately midway through the course. It remains uncertain whether they will participate in Sunday’s opening run.
Meanwhile, American duo Brad Lovell and son Adam Lovell excelled in their Ford Ranger Raptor, comfortably claiming the top spot in the Production 4WD category with a time of 06:04.530, securing 70th overall in a 100-car field.
All on-track action at the Finke Desert Race resumes on Sunday morning, with the first cars set to depart for the opening 226km section from 7:30am local time.
Compiled by SportArena.com.au.
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