The eighth annual Don River Dash, organised and run by the Burdekin Offroaders club, has been hailed a success, with competitors and spectators enjoying another action-packed weekend of off-road racing in the Don River at Bowen. While the 2026 Don River Dash may have been familiar, the track certainly wasn’t.
Heavy rainfall and flooding across the region during the early months of 2026 dramatically changed the Don River, washing away large quantities of sand and much of the vegetation that previously grew through the centre of the river.
The result was a completely different race track for competitors to tackle.
Preparing the 300-kilometre course also presented a major challenge. Residual water remained in parts of the river, requiring extensive work with heavy machinery to create a safe and raceable track.
Hundreds of hours went into creating two 25-kilometre race tracks – one running upstream and the other downstream – along with a separate exclusion-zone track through the centre of the river for safety and recovery vehicles.
Comiskey conquers the Don in brand-new truck
The car section produced a remarkable victory for Brett Comiskey and navigator Corey Cooper, who took the chequered flag in a brand-new Class 8 Mason all-wheel-drive truck.
The pair completed the 300km race in 2 hours and 38 minutes, despite Comiskey having virtually no seat time in the new truck before the weekend. His only previous drive had been unloading it from the trailer when it arrived.
“This was an awesome event. It had traffic, dust and water – everything we love in off-road racing,” Comiskey said.
“I’ve had four DNFs in the past at The Don and one podium, so it’s been a hard road to the top step and I’m glad to have achieved it.”
Comiskey and Cooper were joined on the podium by Brad Belcher and Russell Newman, with Seeton Battle and Nathan Cade completing the top three.
Stephens takes the bike victory
In the early afternoon on both race days, attention turned to the bikes as riders tackled the deep sand, water crossings and constantly changing river conditions.
Newcastle’s Levi Stephens, who finished runner-up at the 2025 Don River Dash, went one better this year to take victory with a total race time of 2 hours and 50 minutes.
Queenslander Eli Englebrecht claimed second in 2 hours and 57 minutes, while fellow Queenslander Tomas Krugercompleted the podium in 2 hours and 59 minutes.
Burdekin Offroaders President Michael Marson credited the volunteers, officials, recovery crews, track preparation teams, sponsors and wider community for getting the heavily affected course ready for racing.
With eight editions now completed, the Don River Dash continues to bring competitors, crews and spectators from across Australia to Bowen and the Whitsunday region.
