The Tatts Finke Desert Race is the gnarliest, most dangerous off-road race on the Australian calendar… and that’s exactly why it’s the one everyone dreams of and the 2025 Finke was no different. A 460km out-and-back sprint through the brutal heart of the Northern Territory, from Alice Springs to Aputula (Finke) and back, across terrain so violent it can break even the most hardened riders. Speeds hit over 170km/h. The whoops stretch for kilometres. The danger? Always one mistake away. And still, they keep coming back.
In 2025, two very different riders lined up in Alice Springs, both chasing the same dream. One, a 17-year-old, Beau Docherty from mid-western New South Wales, fresh-faced and wide-eyed, tackling his very first Finke with his family, a caravan and some family friends. The other, a gritty privateer, Corey Hammond – a quiet achiever who, five years after finishing 40th in his Finke debut, came back determined to write a new chapter.
This is their story.
THE ROOKIE: BEAU’S BIG LEAP
Beau’s KTM got the love it needed: fresh rebuild, long-range tank, desert seat, steering damper, high gearing, Steg Pegz, and a full custom graphics kit from Moto Kit which was littered in all local businesses from Rylstone, NSW… even the local butcher and the pub were featured! Suspension was tuned by Terry from Shock Treatment plus the all-important spanner time with Dad.
“It’s always been a bucket list thing,” Beau says. “Dad and I started chatting about it and figured why not? Let’s make a trip out of it.”
So, they did. “We shook the bike down at Louee before we left, just to make sure everything was ready,” Beau explains. After that, Beau, his family and a convoy of friends set off from Rylstone in the caravan, chasing a dream across the country. They made a three-day journey out of it, winding through the dusty veins of inland Australia, checking off desert campsites, fuel stops and campfire yarns – all while the anticipation built with every kilometre. “We had my family and my Dad’s friend Josh, his wife and two girls travelling together, so we made it in roughly six-hour trips each day,” Beau says. “We stopped near Port Augusta and were able to have a good afternoon riding there, and then at Coober Pedy we did a bit of sightseeing.”
“We camped at the track and did a couple of days of pre-running once we got there,” Beau says. “It gave us a feel for the terrain and helped fine-tune the bike.” At night, the crew would talk tactics around campfires and work through final bike prep by torchlight. It was a holiday on the outside, but for Beau, it was the lead-up to the biggest race of his life. Beau’s Finke kicked off with a promising Prologue.
“I took off in a group of three, got the holeshot, but ran out of gearing. Got a good time, though,” he says casually.
Day 1? It was a baptism of fire. The nerves hit early that morning. “Just standing there, waiting to be called up – it was surreal,” Beau remembers. “Bikes were already screaming off the line, helicopters buzzing overhead. I’d watched it and read about it and suddenly I was in it. Heart going a million miles an hour.” Despite some early drama, Beau battled through the whoops, dust and chaos to complete the first leg. He rolled into Finke camp – exhausted, relieved and still very much in the race.
“Dad dropped me at the start line. I was grid position 127. A few kays in, I copped a flat. I managed to get to the 25km mark where Josh and his family were camped, we ripped the wheel off Josh’s bike and chucked it on mine. Then I just started pushing.”
Chasing dust, dodging bikes, adrenaline surging. Finke doesn’t wait. The whoops are relentless, the terrain ever-changing. Beau pressed on. Every corner could be the end of the race – or the next challenge. At the Finke camp, Beau rolled into the site and tried to fire up the bike. Nothing. The starter motor was cooked.
“Dad had to push me while Lizzy drove the ute,” Beau laughs. “Later we found the bearings had flogged out in the starter motor. We couldn’t fix it – just roll start it.”
It was the kind of problem that ends races. But not this one. Come Day 2, Beau lined up 199th after the flat tyre setback, and just started chasing the riders ahead.
“It was way smoother, much faster on the way back. I was just passing people the whole way back.”
He crossed the 2025 Finke finish line in two hours and 40 minutes, 81st for the day and fifth in class. As he rolled down the final stretch, dust-caked and drained, he could hear the cheers of his family and friends waiting near the finish chute. The same friends and family he’d travelled across the country with were jumping up and down, and plenty of people at home in Rylstone were watching live on YouTube. His final result? 126th overall. Eighth in class. And a finish line story he’ll tell forever. On the way home, they made sure to wind down and soak it all in – stopping for a couple of days at Uluṟu, reflecting on the chaos they’d just lived through.
“It was the most challenging race I’ve ever done. But yeah, I’ll be back. Just need a bit of training, a new bike build, and some money saving!”
THE CLIMB TO THE CROWN
The 2025 2025 Finke also marked a major shift in the Finke landscape. Five-time King of the Desert and Alice Springs local, David Walsh, announced his retirement from racing just weeks before the event. The KTM legend dominated Finke with five consecutive wins from 2019 to 2024 and his absence left a noticeable void in the front pack. “What a wild ride it has been over the past 16 years of racing,” Walsh said. “I never thought I could win the Finke Desert Race, let alone five in a row.”
While stepping away from racing, Walsh has stayed involved in the sport through a mentorship role in the newly-formed STE KTM Racing Team, supporting the likes of Callum Norton and his cousin Liam Walsh, who was unfortunately ruled out of the 2025 event due to injury in the lead-up.
His retirement didn’t just shift expectations, it helped crack the door open for a new chapter to be written.
While Beau was living every high and low of a Finke debut, up the track another story was unfolding.
Corey Hammond had flown under the radar. No factory setup, just a KTM 500EXC-F, support from Sutto’s Powersports and a host of businesses and family, and years of quiet preparation. After finishing 40th in his first Finke, he’d spent half a decade learning the line, chasing time and tuning his approach –watching legends like Walsh dominate the desert while quietly crafting his own run at glory, in 2024 Hammond crossed the line just off the podium in fourth.
What most didn’t see were the seasons spent returning to Alice, riding the track solo, burning through fuel and tyres just to get dialled. The failed attempts, the volunteer support, the financial expense… all of it was part of the process. Corey knew the 2025 Finke bumps before he hit them. He could feel the flow, knew where to push and where to respect the desert’s bite.
When STE Racing KTM favourite Callum Norton withdrew after battling a virus on Day 1, the door cracked even further open. Early on the return leg, Honda’s Brodie Waters was running strong in second, pushing hard to keep the pressure on Hammond, until a massive crash nearly ended his race. The impact damaged his Honda CRF450R and forced him to back off and limp home, opening the path for Campbell Hall to move into second. The young Dubbo, NSW rider had quietly impressed throughout the weekend. Just outside the top 10 in 2024, Hall returned hungrier and more refined. Riding with a maturity beyond his years, he stayed consistent, avoided drama and pounced when the moment came. His second-place finish marked his first Finke podium, and a sign that there’s a new generation ready to challenge for the crown. It was another reminder of how quickly the desert can punish even the best. With Norton out and Waters wounded, Corey Hammond seized his moment. He stayed calm, rode clean and stretched his lead with every kilometre. He led both days, racing smooth and smart, avoiding mistakes in conditions that ended others’ races.
At the 2025 Finke finish line, the numbers said it all: three hours, 46 minutes and 30.16 seconds. A 10-minute margin. One of the most dominant Finke wins in years.
“This really is a dream come true and having a decent gap was nice, rather than seconds on the run home,” he said.
“I have spent a lot of time up here learning the track and it’s nice to see what a bit of hard work and dedication gets you when you look back at five years ago at my first Finke I came 40.
“I am grateful for all the local people who have given me sheds to work from, volunteers at the fuel stops as it’s really a team effort.”
No big team. No backup plan. Just belief – and the throttle hand to match.
A DESERT BUILT ON STORIES
There’s no race like Finke. No room for luck. It’s a full-throttle test of courage, preparation and toughness. Every second counts. Every bump can break you. And in 2025, it delivered one of the most memorable years in recent history.
Corey Hammond’s underdog 2025 Finke win will go down as one of the most dominant ever. A privateer beating the big dogs, riding smart and leaving nothing to chance.
And right behind him, on the same brutal track, a young bloke from country NSW learned what it really means to chase a dream – dust in his teeth, a flat tyre in the sand and a family pushing him every kilometre of the way.
The Finke doesn’t care who you are. But if you make it to the end, you’ve earned your place in its story.
Two riders. Two stories. One desert.
And both? Absolutely earned their place in Finke folklore.
FAREWELL TO A LEGEND
David Walsh will go down as one of the all-time greats of the Finke Desert Race. The Alice Springs rider brought passion, precision and humility to the event year after year, racking up five consecutive wins and setting a benchmark few could match.
His Finke victories came in:
2019
2021
2022
2023
2024
(Note: The 2020 event was cancelled due to COVID-19.)
Walsh’s five-in-a-row ties the record for most consecutive bike wins at Finke, matching Randall Gregory’s streak from 1991 to 1995. However, Toby Price still holds the record for the most overall bike victories with six.
His retirement in 2025 closes a historic chapter, but his legacy continues through the next generation, both in the red dirt and the paddock.
