The 48th edition of the Tatts Finke Desert Race will be held in the Northern Territory over the King’s Birthday long weekend (June 8-10), as Alice Springs powerhouse David Walsh attempts to win a fifth successive crown. If the four-time defending champion gets the job done on his KTM, Walsh will match the record of Randall Gregory who dominated the event from 1991 until 1995 on his booming Honda CR500. Toby Price remains atop the motorcycle winners’ list with six victories, in an event which dates back to 1976.

Ricky Brabec and Tosha Schareina have been locked in a battle of seconds since the start of the rally! On Sunday, the Spaniard won the prologue by 2 seconds over the American, who hit back the very next day, taking stage 1 by just under a second. That was also the gap separating them today at the km 370 time check, the last before the finish. The rider from Valencia eventually won by 7 seconds over the Californian, who retained the overall rally lead. Brabec will start the final special with an advantage of 1′27″ over Schareina and 4′28″over Adrien Van Beveren, third on the day and overall.

Pablo Eli, the mastermind behind the route of the rally, had warned that stage 3 would be an absolute nightmare for navigation. Adrien Van Beveren, who started first after his win yesterday, paid the price, as did the Hero riders Ross Branch and Sebastian Bühler, who lost precious minutes searching for their bearings. The sixth man on the road, Ricky Brabec, avoided any errors.

Back in the day, he had his heart set on bagging the Dakar in Argentina (see "Did you know"), but fate had other plans. He continues to chase his dream in the Saudi desert, but he still aspires to win a rally in South America. He was the first leader of the 2023 Desafío Ruta 40 before finishing just outside the W2RC podium. This time round, Adrien Van Beveren is playing it canny. After finishing fourth in the prologue and third in stage 1, today he turned on the afterburners on the road to San Juan. The Honda rider claimed the longest special of the event (423 km) ahead of his teammate Skyler Howes (+27″), the Hero of Sebastian Bühler (+1′09″) and the CRFs of Tosha Schareina (+1′39″) and Ricky Brabec (+3′42″). He also vaulted to the top of the leader board by 10 seconds over Schareina and 2′14″ over Brabec. The American triumphed in the Dakar and the Spaniard in Portugal, but the Frenchman has yet to taste victory this season. Honda are hogging the provisional podium, but Bühler and his Hero remain well within striking distance in fourth place, 2′34″ down.