Ducati Australia’s “Un-Finkeable” Short Film Live Now!

Ducati Australia have released the full Mission: Un-Finkeable short film, following a gala premiere screening at the Palace Cinema in the heart of ‘Little Italy’: Leichhardt in Sydney’s inner west. The premiere was attended by media and friends of the Ducati brand, you can check it out now below….

As one of the world’s most iconic desert races and widely regarded as the world’s fastest, the Tatts Finke Desert  Race is revered and feared in equal measure; thanks to its reputation for pushing athletes and their machines to breaking point each year in the most remote of areas. Run every June, the race sees competitors using bikes, cars and buggies compete in a grueling two-day slog that sees racers and their crews leave Alice Springs with the hope of arriving in the town of Finke on day one, camp overnight to rest, tend to wounds  and make neccessary repairs, and then head back again.

While the official race doesn’t currently offer an adventure category for motorcycles, Ducati Australia has long seen Finke as the ultimate test of durability; and when Ducati Product Specialist and adventure rider, Nick Selleck, confessed to having the Finke track on his riding bucket list, a plan was hatched and Mission: Un Finkeable was born.  

A 460km return-adventure from Alice Springs to Finke was recently completed in just one day by
Nick Selleck, riding a factory standard Ducati DesertX.

Focusing on pushing the limits of both bike and rider, it was immediately decided that Nick would take a standard Ducati DesertX with a factory 8-litre auxiliary tank to tackle Finke, with the ride set for two weeks after the race weekend. This would mean the track would be at its roughest, but remain relatively clear from traffic, giving Nick and the DesertX the chance to complete the ride as safely and efficiently as possible, while  still racing against prescious daylight hours: in short supply during winter.  

All told, Nick would spend three full days and over 1,000km on the track riding the DesertX; which included track reconnaissance as well as capturing photography and videography to document the journey. With only a small medical, logistics and photography team in-tow, Nick left his one-day, there-and-back run for the third day, having already completed close to 800km in the DesertX’s saddle.  

Focusing on pushing the limits of both bike and rider, it was immediately decided that Nick would take a standard Ducati DesertX with a factory 8-litre auxiliary tank to tackle Finke, with the ride set for two weeks after the race weekend.

Running around 230km each way, the ride follows in the historic footprints of the Finke Desert Race track  between Alice Springs and Finke, and could have been pulled straight from a Mad Max movie – all red desert,  sand and rocky verges. The track is littered with the skeletons of broken machines and racers’ dreams: snaking between places of natural beauty and stark brutality.  

As the officials put it, the Tatts Finke Desert Race is an offroad, multi-terrain two-day race for bikes, cars and  buggies through desert country from Alice Springs to the small Aputula (Finke) community. The race is held  each year on the Queen’s/King’s Birthday long weekend in June. Finke is one of the  biggest annual sporting events in the Northern Territory and has the reputation of being one of the most  difficult offroad courses, in one of the most remote places, in the world.

Aside from a small number of Nick’s  hand-picked genuine Ducati Accessories, which included the rear auxiliary fuel tank, the bike tackled Finke in standard spec, with standard factory suspension set-up. 

Ducati Australia will release the trailer to the Mission: Un-Finkeable documentary shortly, followed by the full documentary in August.

Upon crossing the invisible Finke Desert Race finish line (with all race signage having already been removed and awaiting next year’s race) not long before dark, with fuel still left in the DesertX’s tank and having now ticked off a longstanding item on his bucket list, Nick was able to reflect on his experience among the desert dunes. 

“After three days in the saddle, and a full day riding there and back with little stopping, one thing  remains certain: the DesertX has been the perfect companion for this trip. Not only is the bike comfortable and balanced just-right for this sort of terrain, but it is very light – something that I have no doubt helped with the fuel economy,” Nick explained. 

The film will provide a glimpse into Nick’s journey with the DesertX, and showcasing  the beauty and ferocity of the region and the iconic desert race.

“I’m very keen to give the Finke race a go next time!” he exclaimed.  “I am immensely proud of what we as a team have achieved with this project. There was a lot of personal stress  for me in the lead-up with the realisation of how relentless and dangerous the track is. Would the DesertX’s  standard suspension handle it? Would my body handle it? Would I make it with no refuelling?” 

“It was a big relief in so many ways to cross the finish line. Not just because of the fact that we made the entire  460km distance using only the factory fuel tanks, but that the bike fared so well in such brutal terrain. In fact,  I didn’t have to lay a spanner on the bike all week, except for making clicker adjustments to the standard  suspension! That was astonishing to me and a testament to Ducati’s durability. I am so impressed with how comparatively easily we accomplished this, and I would like to have another crack  at it with the goal of setting a good time. Who knows, maybe we’ll give the race a go next time!” 

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