Peter Kittle Honda start on first row in Australia’s greatest Desert Race

The Peter Kittle Honda Team achieved great success in the first of three challenges at FINKE. Day one is prologue, a five-plus minute loop that throws everything imaginable at riders, narrow tracks, wide sweeping berms with large sharp kicking bumps and fifth gear whooped-out straights. It has everything and, to make it even harder, the track is beaten up by all of the four-wheeled classes first, from Trophy Trucks through to Side x Sides and buggies.

Correy Hammond, the reigning FINKE Champion, took control early and was never seriously challenged until teammate David Walsh came through later in the day. Walsh didn’t race last year, meaning he had to start with his class rather than with the seeded riders. Whilst the top thirty riders take off individually, Walsh left the line with four other riders and had more than 250 competitors race the circuit before him.

Walsh, the five-time FINKE Champion, said there are positives and negatives to both taking off early and starting later in the day.

“Obviously taking off first in prologue there is no dust and you can see everything, but you are taking off straight after the trucks and buggies and they create lines that don’t always work for motorcycles, so you are trying to work out where not to go in real time. Going mid-field the dust is worse, but the track has been ridden in. I am happy with second,” said Walsh.

Hammond agreed and admitted the waiting game was almost as difficult as the riding itself.

“Going first is good, little to no dust, but the trucks and buggies form their own lines and you also have to wait patiently for a few hours to see if your time sticks. This is my first prologue win and I won’t lie, I was anxiously waiting to see what everyone else did. The bike is good, the team is working well and I am excited for the first leg down to Finke,” said Hammond.

Brodie Waters, who finished third outright last year, came home fourth fastest. Whilst happy with the result, Waters felt there was more available.

“Fourth is ok, everything is going to plan. I made too many small mistakes, but taking off on the second row isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The boys out front will set the pace and I have someone to chase. I have done a lot of riding with the guys in front, so it should be good to see what they are doing,” said Waters.

The Peter Kittle Honda Team will bring together more than 40 crew members, three riders and senior staff across the weekend, all united with one objective, chasing Honda’s 21st outright victory at Australia’s greatest outback race.

Day two starts at midday with riders racing 223 kilometres south to Aputula (Finke), where they will spend the night before teams prepare motorcycles for the return journey to Alice Springs tomorrow.

To follow results go to :https://finkedesertrace.com.au/