Tech issue ends leader Walsh's Finke effort

The harsh luck of the desert has robbed KTM’s David Walsh of a very likely-looking maiden victory in the weekend’s Tatts Finke Desert Race, after he was forced to withdraw during today’s return leg to Alice Springs.

Damon Stokie went on to win the event from Husqvarna’s Ivan Long and KTM Desert Racing Team rider Luke Hayes.

Luke Hayes

Luke Hayes – “I’m absolutely stoked to be on the podium. It’s been a long time in the making. I was sixth out of Alice because Josh Green beat me off the start, and left Finke in third and came home third. The run down was pretty wild. I was in dust for about 120 kilometres and I had a handful of big moments just fighting through it, but the way home was much better. I had a bit of fresh air in front of me and a bit of leeway behind me, so I just focussed on stringing together a nice clean run and just wanted to make sure I got home safe and sound. I’m cut for David. I was really disappointed to see him by the side of the track and I think he really deserved to be on the top step of the podium this year.”

With the orange brand shooting for its fourth successive win in the annual 480-kilometre, two-day Northern Territory epic, early blows were suffered with the withdrawal of five-time champ Toby Price two weeks back, and the injury to promising open class rookie Jack Simpson last Friday.

Regardless, the team was well on track yesterday when Prologue winner Walsh became the only rider to push under the two-hour mark on the away leg, setting a blistering 1:58:04 on his KTM 500 EXC-F.

He arrived at Finke for the overnight camp with a buffer of over five-and-a-half minutes over Stokie – despite riding the last 20 kilometres on a flat rear tyre!

The 27-year-old carpenter certainly looked to be on the very cusp or carving a new legend into the Finke record books, when a technical issue caused his machine to lose power, and he was out.

David Walsh was knocked out of a leading position following a technical problem

David Walsh was disappointed after such a strong start but admitted, “It’s just motorsport. I can’t really say much except a big thank you to the team for all their hard work – they worked tirelessly and they’re all great blokes. Without them I wouldn’t have been at the pointy end to begin with. My run down yesterday was really smooth. I got a flat tyre with about 25 kilometres to go and I had to ride in on a flat, which probably cost me a minute or two, but otherwise it was no problem. The track was very rough towards the end. You never got a break or a chance to sit down. So, I was pretty shocked to be under the two-hour mark.”

Hayes’ goal was to beat his last year’s finish of sixth outright, and with his last-minute upgrade to Price’s vacated KTM 500 EXC-F, the 22-year-old primary school indigenous student assistant exceeded his goal – right onto the Finke outright podium.

He was followed home by another KTM, the 450 EXC-F of young Mount Gambier racer Kent Collins, who rounded out the 451cc and above 4T class podium, in the process taking a hugely creditable fourth position outright.

Twenty-three-year-old Victorian farmer Nathan Trigg used his 2017 KTM 300 EXC to defend his 251cc and above 2T class title in the boldest possible terms, incredibly winning by more than an hour over the KTMs of Benjamin Russell and Samuel Handley.

Nathan Trigg

Nathan Trigg – “Last year I won this class on a 2009 300 EXC and this year I came back on a 2017 KTM 300 EXC and the suspension dialled in and I won this year by over an hour!
I wanted to ride a little bit faster on the way down, but I lost a Steg Peg after the first fuel stop and it made it really hard in the big whoops in the middle of the track. But then we fixed everything up and had a good run home. I passed Jacob Smith, and I was still pushing really hard there and I came in only about a minute behind Sam Davies. The 2017 KTM 300 EXC was crazy good. A lot faster, a lot more top speed and with the Track shock it made it a lot faster through the whoops, and on the flat ground the top speed was a good 20kph faster I think.”

Other KTM class winners included Veterans 45 Years and Over champion Jamie Harrison, who led another KTM trifecta comprising Neil Doyle and Adam O’Connor.

In the Masters 35 to 39 Years, Michael Burgess triumphed over Anthony Hanlan and Simon Drew.
For more information on KTM motorcycles visit www.ktm.com.au or www.facebook.com/KTMAustralia.

The KTM Finke Desert Race team

Jeff Leisk, KTM General Manager said, “We had a very strong preparation, as we always do, and didn’t compromise anywhere. We certainly thought we had all our bases covered, and the configuration of our bike was proven many times over prior to the event. Until we pull the bike down we won’t know what happened, but from a personal perspective, I just feel for David. He really prepared and committed himself in the most outstanding way for the event, and I feel more for him than any of us. We just have to stick together as a team and come back stronger next time, that’s all we can do. At the end of the day, they’re all home safe and sound, and that gives us a platform for the next one. Luke stepped into some other shoes here and took on the responsibility when Toby couldn’t compete, and to put the bike on the podium was outstanding.

“Finke is a huge endeavour for KTM. There’s probably 40 or so people on the race weekend, but Glenn Kearney and the techs put in so much grunt work beforehand when there’s no-one around, no fanfare. They’re just out in the desert testing for the race. We have a lot of people volunteer their time to help our team too, manning fuel stops and providing support and camaraderie. A big hats-off to them because we just couldn’t do it without them either, they’re all part of our team.”

Glenn Kearney added “Gutted is the word that best describes it. There was nothing else we could have done with our prep. I was the chopper above Walshy and we were doing segment times on him, and his first segment out of Alice was quicker than Toby’s time in that first sector last year, so we knew right from the start that everything was on track. The trip down was pretty well flawless until Walshy got that flat tyre with about twenty odd kays to go, but even then, he still came in with that 5-minute-forty lead – riding on a flat!

“For it all to just come unfolded straight away on the return run was so disappointing. I feel gutted for Walshy, he’s put in so much work, just like the 35-40 of us up here, not including the people back in Sydney – but what do you do? That’s racing. Luke’s had his career-best finish, and equalled the finish of his old man a few years ago, so that’s pretty cool. At the start of the year we were helping him out as support guy, and he’s ended up being the lone soldier for us.

Kent Collins

“It’s been a tough hit-out this time around. We started out with Tye and lost him, and then Toby wasn’t healthy enough, then Jack got injured last week, and on the return run today we’ve lost Walshy. But sometimes, that’s how the cards are dealt. We’ll learn from it and move forward.”