When a young local rider turned up with an L-plate strapped to his back at the Condo 750 in 2019, his ambitions were just to finish the event. Fast-forward to 2025 Condo 750 and that lanky local finally got the monkey off his back… a monkey that until this year was holding on tight to the sixth-place trophy.
You see, Todd Ridley either DNF’d or finished sixth in every Condo 750 since his rookie ride. But this year the monkey was given the boot as Todd put on a masterclass of navigation riding to take home the #1 plate.
Prologue took place on Friday afternoon with 47 riders taking on the 62km course to determine the starting order. Todd was seeded 23rd and had to contend with some dust… but this would be the only dust the WR450 rider would encounter all weekend. Todd’s competitive time put him in first, just 30 seconds in front of Corey Banks, with rookie rider Gregory Prisk in third.
Early Start
Saturday was an early one as the riders lined up waiting for their start time. Total distance for the day would be just over 600km, including 450km of competitive racing. Ridley was first on the road and had a clear run, only needing to contend with the rising sun, not the hanging dust the competitors behind him had to endure. However just 200m from the finish of the first stage, a kangaroo jumped out, contacting Todd in the ribs. Luckily he stayed upright and skippy left the scene. Todd’s race could have ended at the start! Meanwhile Corey Banks missed a turn at the re-route and ended up on the wrong side of the fence, losing valuable time.
The second stage was full of drama with the top riders cresting a hill at over 160km/h only to realise the ground surface was not ideal for braking before the barbed-wire fence. Greg Prisk took the option to straighten up and hit the fence straight on. This worked to a degree, but it did take a while to get the bike back on the correct side. Scotty Huggins and Corey Banks both opted for the dirt track slide to try and negotiate the turn, but both riders caught the fence and the subsequent fall set off their jacket air bags. David Geeves was moving up the field and showing the pace of a rider half his age when his WR decided to wave the white flag and he was forced to abandon the rattly Yamaha and hitch a ride to the lunch break. Todd Ridley was out in front and although he avoided the infamous fence, his ICO (digital road book) failed, leaving him with no tripmeter to navigate with for the remainder of the day.
The final stage of the day turned into a full-on battle for second place. Liam McConnell was screaming along on the KTM 300 two stroke, keeping pace with the big four strokes in the tighter terrain. With 10km left to race, Liam caught Scotty Huggins and then John Patten. The trio of riders played high-speed chess in the dust as each took a turn leading, till they either hesitated or missed a turn and relinquished the dust-free run. With a few hundred meters left, it was Huggins who took the lead and crossed the finish with the two stroke of McConnell stuck to his back wheel. Zac Manwarring was runner-up last year and had a great day on the smaller 250cc four-stroke KTM. Starting in ninth, Zac stretched the throttle cable all day, passing several riders to finish day one in fourth outright.
Sunday Run
Sunday morning was a cold, still, clear day. Perfect conditions for dust to just hang in the air. Ridley led out once again and only had to contend with the rising sun as he raced towards the East. Scotty Huggins started day 2 in second, while Liam McConnell put the little two stroke into third outright. Gregory Prisk showed some impressive speed for a rookie on Saturday but Sunday morning would bring the big guy back to earth, literally, when a missed turn washed out the front end of his Husky 501 just 4km into the first section. Out of control, Pisk hit the ground hard, slid through a barbed-wire fence and broke his wrist. Mat Gillespie stopped to render assistance and flag the other riders past.
Corey Banks eventually came across a lost Scotty Huggins and the pair lost a bit of time finding the right track. Liam McConnell had a fresh top end in this KTM two stroke and was keeping a good pace till the rear brakes decided to fail along with the fork seals. While the brake system was replaced at the service, the fork seals would have to wait and it was back in the race. However Liam’s dramas were not over as the service-crew vehicle went into limp mode on the way to the next fuel stop, leaving McConnell dangerously short on fuel.
The last section for the day was a mental battle for Todd Ridley. Although his race had been near text book so far, the pressure was on him and he did back off a little to minimise the chance of a mistake. Corey Banks was having his own challenges, when the road book came loose, flopping around on his handlebar. A trackside fix with cable ties kept it in place for a short time, but the track was too rough and the cable ties kept breaking. Just when Corey thought he was having a bad day, he came across Zac Manwarring on the side of the track just 9km from the end. A broken chain was a heartbreaking end to a fantastic ride from the Condo local but in true rally fashion, Zac managed to make repairs and at least complete the race.
At the end of the day, Todd Ridley could not have asked for a better race. Out in front for two days, no major mistakes and now an outright win to his name. Corey Banks described his ride as mentally challenging but was stoked to finish just his third rally in second outright. Liam McConnell surprised himself along with everyone else when he put the little two stroke in third outright. It was not his first choice for the race, but now claims one of the few (if any) two-stroke motorcycles to podium at the Condo 750.
What is the Condo 750?
The Condo 750 is a two-day (sometimes three if a prologue is included) navigational race that takes place over a minimum of 750km and the 2025 event encompassed 1250km of outback NSW. Originally known as the Centretrek 750, this iconic event has been around since the late 1980s. Competitors use transport sections to get to the start of competitive (or race) sections where the throttle is wide open as they navigate their way around farm tracks and dirt roads on bikes and quads, and in cars and buggies. Service crews provide support, fuel and maintenance to the competitors at set locations with strict time controls. At the end of the two days racing, the winner is the rider with the lowest cumulative race times. So technically it is possible to win the event even if you are never the lead bike!
DR BIG
This Suzuki DR750 Big is owned by Mr Graham Lewis and competed in both the 1992 and 1993 Centretrek events. A map reader (or route sheet holder) would have been bolted to the handlebar cross brace and served as the navigation system that would be wound on by the left hand. These days the map roller is pretty much the same design, just updated with LED lights and a remote switch operating the electric motor to wind on the map. Competitors also have a Rally Safe GPS unit on the bike to provide tracking as well as a plethora of information such as Proximity Alerts, Stage Name/Times, Speed, Trip Meter and even messages from race control.
Rally Heritage
As well as four Finke Desert Race Outright Victories, Stephen Greenfield was a superb Rally rider winning the 1999 Australasian Safari held over seven days of racing. This year, it was time for Greenie to swap the helmet for the spanners and support his son Bradley in just his second Navigational Rally. The father and son team made the 26-hour drive from Alice Springs in the Northern Territory to Condobolin in the centre of NSW. Bradley is no stranger to high speed, having competed in six Finke Desert Races where speeds often exceed 170km/h and his best finish was 10th outright.
The Condo 750 presented a new challenge to racing when Bradley encountered a mob of kangaroos early in the prologue. When hurtling down a fence line at high speed Bradley was instantly surrounded by seven fast moving roos that almost took out the front wheel of his KTM. Dodging skippy raised the heart rate and closed the throttle a little bit as Bradley was not keen on being taken out of the race by wildlife. He managed to complete the prologue in 11th position.
Over the next few days, Bradley rode a good race, staying mostly on his maps and with just a few navigational errors. In the second competitive section on Sunday, the front end of the KTM clipped a stump, sending Bradley to the ground, but other than a few grazes no real damage was done and he quickly remounted. At the end of the day, Bradley finished a credible 10th outright and is looking forward to 2026
“The Condo 750 is a good race, I enjoyed it,” said Bradley Greenfield. “After prologue with the kangaroo incident, I was a little bit wary and the first day took a little bit to get stuck into it but I felt really good on Sunday. It is a different wheelhouse than what I am used to. I like the open fast stuff but the tight stuff I am still trying to get used to, especially with a bigger bike and bigger fuel tank. Condo puts more pressure on you to perform mentally, while Finke is more of a physical performance. I would love to keep riding both events.”
