Tattersall's Finke Desert Race . . . Off Road Racing in Australia . . . .

2009 Tattersall's Finke Desert Race Round 2 - 2009 Australian Off Road Championships Saturday 6th, Sunday 7th and Monday 8th June 2009 Commentary - Saturday to Monday Times listed are Central Standard Time. This page should refresh itself every three minutes, or you can click Refresh page any time you like.
12:40pm	The last car has crossed the finish line for the 2009 Tattersall's Finke Desert Race. Congratulations again to David Fellows and Andrew Kittle on the back to back wins. The next round of the Australian Off Road Championship is the Sunraysia 500 in July.
12:33pm	Simon Brown and Timothy Wadlow (309) in the Polaris Ranger RZR have had a long day but finally crossed the finish line. Terry Poulsen and Mitchell Poulson (733) in the Commercial Doors and Hardware NT, Nissan Patrol have also finished and what we believe to be the last car on the road.
12:32pm	Simon Brown and Timothy Wadlow (309) in the Polaris Ranger RZR have had a long day but finally crossed the finish line.
12:23pm	Jared Melville and Brendan Winter (291) in the ex Randall Kilner (Dirtcomp Magazine) Rivmaster Buggy have finished the 2009 Tattersall's Finke Desert Race
12:21pm	Results have been updated on the Events page.
12:14pm	Craig and Tracey Meekings (117) in the Alice Springs Brake & Clutch Buggy have finally made it to the finish line. The finish line and therefore late running time will close at 12:30.
12:07pm	Greg, Marie & Jessica McArthur (516) in the Corporate Design Floors NT, Ford Falcon Ute have completed the 220plus km to finish the 2009 Tattersall's Finke Desert Race
12:06pm	Murray and Julie Collins (810) in the Mickey Thompson, Magnum Steel, Jeep Cherokee have crossed the finish line.
12:02pm	Chris Coulthard and Rob Hawker (88) in the Autosparky.com, Rhemac Motors Jimco 2000 Series Buggy were first off the start line today but suffered a flat tyre after the Rodinga Checkpoint. They fixed and continued on only to break an axle.
11:51am	Michael and Michael Rieck (571) in the Max Cranes and Equipment Hire – Port Augusta, Mitsubishi L200 Ute have crossed the finish line nose to tail with the 881 entry of Stuart and Jim Zlotkowski in their Paintball Australia, Steelware, Subaru Brumby, EJ20T.
11:50am	Rob Cowie (192) in the Move Yourself Trailer Hire, Jimco Buggy has crossed the finish line at Alice Springs.
11:48am	The South Australian 555 entry of Shawn and Geoff Teagle in the Teagle Excavations, Millicent Tyre Centre, K&S Fuels Ford Falcon Ute has crossed the finish line just in front of the 572 West Austrlaians Peter Kozac and Paul Coci in the Bad Boy Penrite Oils Holden Ute.
11:44am	Finishers are coming through fast at the moment. the John Williamson and Trevor Taylor Williamson Properties & Equipment, Mt Hotham Ski Resort Southern Cross Buggy (230) has crossed the line infront of Colin Hyde and Sharon Hyde (364) in the 8HA, Phil Brand Mobile Service, Southern Cross MK3.
11:43am	An update on the crew of the Rockstar Energy Drink Jimco Buggy (6), Neville Taylor was accompanied by his daughter Hayley Hutton for the whole event. Because they had Michael entered as a reserve navigator, were unsure of who was acutally in the car during our commentary.
11:33am	Bernard Gwynne and Greg Black (441) in the Chev Truck have completed the 2009 Tattersall's Finke Desert Race
11:30am	Results have been updated on the events page.
11:29am	James Madden and Matthew Morgan (81) in the The Off Road Shop, Razorback Buggy have been reported as stopped on the track about 40km from the finish.
11:28am	The all girl team of Lucinda and Gemma Owen (244) in the Caltex Indervon, Southern Cross Buggy has finished.
11:24am	Trent Gravestock and Matthew Neilson (233) in the Alloy Haulage Bodies, Bullet Buggy have completed the 2009 Tattersall's Finke Desert Race in their Super 1650 buggy.
11:23am	Robert Chapman (803) on finishing todays race said "That was awsome, but it was still rough. The car ran well and it's good to get to the finish. To finish our first Finke is great."
11:20am	Bruce Garland (807) in the Isuzu Operations Thailand, Bridgestone, Isuzu D-Max Ute have completed the 2009 Tattersall's Finke Desert Race
11:10am	The Chapmans Auto Repairs, Mitsubishi Pajero Wagon of Robert Chapman and Ross Challacombe (803) have crossed the finish line. Chapman said after reconnaissance "Gee the tracks rough, we're here to chase points".
11:08am	Geoff Pickering and Mark Henderson (701) in the Faulken Tyres, Mitsubishi NP Pajero have completed full distance at the 2009 Tattersall's Finke Desert Race. This is Pickerings first AORC event for the year having sat out the Hyden 450 with back problems.
11:07am	The South Australian father and son team of Sam and Peter Barnes (371) in their Jaycar, Phillips Foote Restaurant Furner Burner Mark 3 Buggy have finished the event. They lost their brakes at about 10km from Finke so have travelled 210 plus km with no brakes. The Barnes are long time Finke campaigners and it great to see them finish first in the Sportsman class.
10:58am	Colin Hunter and Margot Knowles (801) in the Goodyear, Extreme Motor Sports, Jeep Grand Cherokee have made it to the finish line at Alice Springs. They must have fixed their fuel problems which stopped them finish yesterdays run to Finke.
10:57am	Sandy Bowman and Daniel Hardman (833) in the Aus 4WD, Eastern Sleepers, Nissan Patrol Ute have followed up their Extreme 4WD class victory at Hyden.
10:56am	Results have been updated on the events page.
10:41am	Andrew Mowles (102) in the Alice Hosetech, Hurricane Single Seater Buggy has just crossed the line.
10:40am	Matt Western and Stewy Bishop (462) in the Mickey Thompson Tires, Off Road Rush, Racer Imports Chevy Rush Extreme 2WD have put in a tremendous effort to finish the event. This is only the second run for this truck with the Hyden 450 being the first. A 100% finishing rate for the Off Road Rush team. Matt said the had a slow run today and the battery died. They borrowed one from another broken down race car, strapped it in and kept goint. They lost power steering and broke the exhaust but had an abolsute ball. Quote from Matt "Absolutely fantastic, the rougher it is, the more the car likes it."
10:33am	Greg Gartner and Jamie Jennings (410) in the Craig Carrison Race Engines Ford F150 have finisehd but struggled home with only second gear for the last 110km. Definately not Gartners normal driving style.
10:32am	Steven Jentsch and Brendan Foley (420) in the S&K Plumbing, Bennett Rodeo crossed the finish line around 10:13
10:31am	The results have been just incase you are having trouble accessing them on the Finke Desert Race web site.
10:16am	Brad Mudge and Cameron Smith (48) said they had no troubles on the run from Finke. This is the first time they have completed in the Tattersall's Finke Desert Race and are over the moon to have a 100% finishing rate.
10:15am	Justin Watt and Joel Matthew (101) in the Albins Off Road Gear, Jimco 2000 Series Buggy said they nursed the Jimco home as it was overheading. They're happy to have made it to Alice.
10:15am	Current Australian Off Road Champions Shannon and Ian Rentsch (1) in the Rentsch’s Auto Salvage & Metal Recyclers – Warrnambool Chenowth Millenium 2003 Buggy said they had an event free run from Finke to Alice, much better than yesterday, but had a bit of trouble passing the traffic.
10:14am	Steven Jentsch and Brendan Foley (420) in the S&K Plumbing, Bennett Rodeo have finished.
10:10am	The Western Australian entry of Brad Mudge and Cameron Smith (48) in the Haltech Computers Razorback Buggy have made it to the finish line in Alice Springs. Well done boys.
10:10am	Nev, Michael and Hayley Taylor (6) in the Rockstar Energy Drink, Jimco Buggy have finished the event. A great effort considering Neville broke his right wrist in the rollover at the Hyden 450 at Easter. Neville had the cast removed only days before they left for this event.
10:08am	Bruce Muir and Gavin Rayner (422) in the G’Day Mate Tourist Park Nissan Navara crossed the line at about 9:59 followed by Anthony Fehlhaber and Gary Howell (138) in the I.B.S. Skip Bins Mirage Buggy.
10:07am	Brad Gallard and Scott Modistach (401) in the Hi Tec Oils, Wicked Quick Clothing Geiser Bros Trophy Truck have finished. They have over heading problems for the whole 226km race and Gallard said "the needle was off the guage". They were concentrating so hard on the overheading problem that the had an off and hit a tree. They made it home with a small dent in the front to remember the event.
10:05am	Have just been informed the Brett Taylor and Damien Smart (31) had no brakes for the last third of the track.
10:04am	Local Brett Taylor and Damien Smart (31) in the Bob Baldock, Aceco 2006 Buggy crossed the finish line at Alice Springs around 9:57am.
10:03am	An update on the rest of the field. The car numbers will be in no particular order. Through Mt Squires: 572 516 571 576 555 701 733 6 48 5 1 85 81 42 31 88 21 13 11 2 102 121 192 101 117 138 125 223 244 202 230 291 371 309 364 420 410 441 422 409 405 401 404 462 431 801 803 807 810 811 833 Through Bundooma: 701 1 6 48 85 81 31 88 21 13 11 2 102 121 101 138 125 223 202 230 371 420 410 422 409 405 401 404 462 801 833 Through Rodinga: 1 85 81 31 88 21 11 2 101 138 125 410 422 409 401 404 Through DeepWell: 1 6 48 85 31 21 11 2 101 138 125 422 409 404 401
9:54am	Shannon and Ian Rentsch (1) in the Rentsch’s Auto Salvage & Metal Recyclers – Warrnambool Chenowth Millenium 2003 Buggy has just finished the 2009 Tattersall's Finke Desert Race in 9th place. This will give him valuable points in his chase for a back to back Australian Off Road Championships.
9:53am	The battle for the Pro lite class was hot with Wayne and Steven Sanderson (125) in the Sanderson Transport Jimco 2000 crossing the line just in front of Justin Watt and Joel Matthew (101) in the Albins Off Road Gear, Jimco 2000. It will be close on corrected time. Will have to await the results.
9:51am	Anthony Kuhn and Trevor Brebner (404) in the IFE Bilk Solutions, Toyota Tundra have finished the event in sixth place. A great effort for a brand new vehicle.
9:43am	Terry Rose and David Hartwig (11) in their Jimco have crossed the line in fifth place. A tremendous effort from the long time offroaders.
9:42am	Mark Burrows and Colin Hodge (21) were lucky to get the buggy ready for todays race. They pulled the engine down yesterday afternoon at Finke and also fixed the turbo. At about two thirds that way through the track today they lost power steering so finished the event the hard way.
9:39am	ex locals Geoff and Liz Roe (409) in the Uniflex Geiser truck have finished fourth in the 2009 Tattersall's Finke Desert Race. They secure first in Extreme 2WD class.
9:38am	Beau Robinson and Roy Lukies (85) in the BF Goodrich Tyres, Outer Bounds Racing Jimco have just crossed the line. Beau is only one of the Outer Bounds Racing team to finish with brother Travis (13) out with gearbox problems and father Brian (85) not making it to Finke yesterday. This is a tremendous effort for Beau in his brand new Jimco with its first run.
9:31am	David Fellows and Andrew Kittle (2) broke a throttle cable between Mt Squires and Bundooma and were passed by Mark Burrows and Colin Hodge (21). Fellows fought back to take the lead and win the 2009 Tattersall's Finke Desert Race.
9:30am	Second to finish the 2009 Tattersall's Finke Desert Race is Mark Burrows and Colin Hodge (21) in the Albins Off Road Gear, Max Burrows Bulk Haulage MBR Jimco 2000 Series Buggy.
9:26am	David Fellows and Andrew Kittle (2) in the Toyota Peter Kittle Motor Company, Jimco 2000 Series Buggy have just crossed the finish line here in Alice Springs securing a back to back win for the 2009 Tattersall's Finke Desert Race. Congratulations to the team.
9:23am	Chris Coulthard and Rob Hawker (88) in the Autosparky.com, Rhemac Motors Jimco 2000 Series Buggy are reported as a DNF for reasons unknown.
9:22am	Mark Burrows was closely followed by David Fellows as they passed through Bundooma. It is unkown at this stage what slowed Fellows. Beau Robinson (13) and Geoff Roe (409) have been reported through Bundooma.
9:22am	We can see in the distance the chopper following the lead cars. They are due at the finish line within minutes.
9:22am	85, 409 and 11 are reported through the Rodinga Checkpoint
9:20am	85, 409 and 11 are reported through the Rodinga Checkpoint
9:13am	it has just been reported that Coulthard has gone missing from the lead and it is Fellows followed by Burrows. Travis Robinson and Paul Currie (13) in the BF Goodrich Tyres, Jimco OBR Buggy are reported out with gearbox problems.
9:11am	Unfortunately Andrew Pinto's turbo issues proved to be unfixable and he did not start this morning at finke. Also the cars of Stephen Ariston (177) and Darren Greening and Matthew Sexton (168) did not start today.
9:07am	The following cars are rerpoted through Bundooma, in no particular order: 21, 88, 133, 2, 410, 404, 422, 1, 13, 85, 409, 11, 125, 31, 101
9:06am	The following cars have been through Mt Squires: 371, 833, 42, 192, 401, 410, 405, 801, 420, 404, 81, 121, 102, 422, 48, 1, 11, 125, 202, 31, 462
8:59am	The 88 entry of Chris Coulthard and Rob Hawker (88) had a slow section time between Bundooma and now are only 1 minute 30 sec in front of David Fellows and Andrew Kittle (2). Mark Burrows and Colin Hodge (21) are a further minute and a half behind the 88 car. Travis Robinson and Paul Currie (13) have not been reported through Rodinga as yet so have lost their second on the road position.
8:57am	Coulthard, Fellows and Burrows have all gone through Rodinga checkpoint.
8:52am	The following cars are reported through Mt Squires: Gartner, Rose, Brown and Kuhn
8:38am	Chris Coulthard (880 has been through the halfway point at Rodinga
8:37am	Mark Burrows was closely followed by David Fellows as they passed through Bundooma. It is unkown at this stage what slowed Fellows. Beau Robinson (13) and Geoff Roe (409) have been reported through Bundooma.
8:22am	The first car reported through the Bundooma check point is the 88 car of coulthard and Hawker. They were closley followed by Travis Robinson and Paul Currie (13) in the BF Goodrich Tyres, Jimco OBR Buggy.
8:15am	Mark Burrows (210 and Beua Robinson (85) have been reported as passing through Mt Squires
8:06am	The cars of Fellows, Coulthard and Travis Robinson have been reported through the Mt Squires check point.
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2009 Tattersall's Finke Desert Race