Finke Desert Race legends Travis Robinson and David Walsh win again, alongside reigning champs Hannah Bentley and Madi Healey

Returning legends of the Finke Desert Race, David Walsh and Travis Robinson, have been crowned Kings of the Desert at the gruelling two-day off-road race, with Walsh winning on bikes for a record-equalling sixth time and Robinson claiming victory on cars.

This year's Finke marked the 50th-anniversary event, and more than 150 cars and 670 motorbikes competed, making it the biggest in the competition's history.

The race continued today despite a fatal crash claiming the life of a motorbike rider, who is yet to be publicly named, on day one of the race.

This morning, in the cars section of the race, West Australian driver Travis Robinson and navigator Paul Currie — competing in the extreme 4WD category — were the first to cross the finish line in Alice Springs.

The winning team completed the 460-kilometre race to Aputula/Finke and back in 3 hours, 23 minutes and 6 seconds.

The victory marks Robinson's second in as many years, after he snatched the crown from the reigning champion — his brother Beau — in 2025.

Speaking to the ABC from the finish line, the driver said his team had cruised through "the perfect weekend". 

"Just killer, I can't believe it."

Robinson said this year would be his last at Finke.

"It's something I wanted to do for my dad and my family and Paul here, and we've won it twice in a row — smart enough to go out on top and go onto other things, family and business". 

But he said the off-road racing tradition would likely be carried on by his children, hopefully in about a decade, and Robinson would be cheering on his brother from the sidelines of next year's event.

"I sort of got back into the sport when my old man died, and it's really great for the kids," he said.

He said for now, he was keen to enjoy a few celebratory drinks and watch back the race footage of what he called his vehicle's "Dukes of Hazzard moments", soaring over the track's dirt jumps.

Almost 10 minutes after the winners arrived in Alice Springs, driver Boston Morgan-Horan and navigator Will Haddock crossed the line to take home second place.

The silver placegetters competed in the extreme 2WD class, representing New Zealand, and achieved a time of 3 hours, 32 minutes and 23.8 seconds.

Robinson said Morgan-Horan was in a strong position to return and dominate next year's race, describing him as "a force to be reckoned with".

Co-drivers Hayden and Sam Bentley rounded out the podium in third place, alongside navigator Viv Coe.

Racing in the extreme 4WD category on behalf of South Australia, the bronze team finished with a time of 3 hours, 45 minutes and 19 seconds.

Finke Desert Race does not have an official Queen of the Desert title for cars, but reigning South Australian champ Hannah Bentley was the first woman to drive across the finish line again this year.

Competing in the extreme 2WD category, after nabbing victory in both 2024 and 2025, she raced in the team's trophy truck alongside co-driver Hayden Bentley and navigator Scott Gould.

Finishing in 21st spot overall for the cars, the team recorded a time of 4 hours, 26 minutes and 4 seconds.

David Walsh wins on bikes for sixth time 

Hundreds of motorbikes began racing along the return leg from Aputula/Finke at midday, with Alice Springs legend David Walsh ultimately pulling ahead of the pack to secure his sixth win.

After winning five consecutive races, from 2019 to 2024, Walsh made a strong return to the competition this year after sitting it out in 2025.

His motorbike crossed the finish line in a time of 3 hours, 49 minutes and 27.9 seconds.

His number of bike wins equals a record set by Finke legend Toby Price.

Walsh said having a six-minute lead on his closest competition overnight had given him a useful edge on day two.

"It just meant I could click into overdrive today and cruise all the way here, and that's what we did," he said.

"[This win] sits pretty high for me. It was a brand-new team; I was a year on the couch, so I wasn't sure where I was going to stack up against all these blokes that are 12 years younger than me. And yeah, happy to get the job done."

The repeat champion said he would now focus on preparing for the upcoming Baja 1000 in Mexico, saying completing the "brutal" Finke had put him in good stead for the event.

He was followed by runner-up Campbell Hall, more than 6 minutes later. 

Liam Walsh, the cousin of this year's motorbike winner, finished in third place, with a time of 3 hours 59 minutes and 37.8 seconds.

Reigning Queen of the Desert Madison Healey raced her motorbike to victory again this year, taking home the title for a third time in a time of 5 hours, 16 minutes and 4 seconds.

She said she was "stoked" with the win.

"A lot of emotion in this one. It means a lot, honestly. Me and my family, we put a lot into this race, so to come out on top again and nearly to crack the top 50 outright, it means heaps," she said.

"The first [win], it was just to get there and back, and last time I was stoked to come on top, but this one, I think it really puts my name out there, and yeah, it's solid."

Corey Hammond, who won last year's motorbike race, finished in 18th place this time around.

Meanwhile fan-favourite and one of the biggest names in Finke history, Toby Price, lost his chance at taking home a 10th win.

He is the only Finke Desert Race competitor to have ever achieved victory in both the motorbike and car categories, but this year Price experienced gearbox issues and did not finish day one.

Beau Robinson's vehicle also ran into trouble on Sunday, delayed by steering issues and two flat tyres — dashing his chances of stealing the crown back from brother Travis.