Finke 2015: Desert Finale
Blanketed and boxed in by dust, hounded by mechanical issues and battling against the desert, Team Toyo has punched through the darkness and roared home.
The coveted 40th anniversary race has been one of the toughest Finke’s ever, according to drivers coming into Alice Springs from the massive field.
The battle of Rentsch and Rhodes went in favour of sophomore King of the Desert Rentsch, illustrating the random cruelty of The Finke Desert Race.
Rhodes lead the field all weekend, an almost assured victory slipping through his fingers following a flat tyre after the Bundooma checkpoint, around kilometre 110.
Hayden Bentley lead Team Toyo in, taking second in the X2WD class and seventh outright in his first Finke with the Racer Engineering trophy truck.
“The run, home especially for the for the last 100 kilometres was a lot of fun, we found some clear air and got to push it,” said Bentley.
“Qualifying cost us positions but we couldn’t be happier with our run, no damage to the truck, no moments, no damage, no flats. Very happy for a brand new truck we haven’t driven; next qualifying will be a different story.”
Bentley Motorsports and the #418 TT will return in form at the Toyo Tires Riverland Enduro.
“We will regroup and clean up for Waikerie. There are lot of positives to take from it, we will build it on this performance and go get ‘em,” he said.
Matthew Kittle’s fourth attempt at finishing the legendary desert race race has been a success. Kittle pushed through the field following a rollover in qualifying to finish 12th outright and ninth in Pro-Class with a very fast return run, half of it without brakes.
“It was one of the hardest drives I have ever done, the dust was ridiculous and the seeded position started us from 30th, so we made up 17 positions.”
About halfway through the return leg, after the Rodinga checkpoint the #23 Jimco lost brakes, with Kittle relying solely on the Open Country M/T-R’s grip to get through corners.
“At Finke any corner you overshoot there is a big hole or a big tree waiting for you. The tyres performed really well, with no brakes I needed to make sure I had the control around the corners. The tyre performed perfectly,” he said.
“They gave me the confidence to hook up and I never had any doubts.”
Following a nightmare first day, Greg Gartner Motorsports replaced a damaged torque converter and headed to Finke late last night, to see the #410 have a final crack at the 40th.
Arriving a 2am, rolling swags out until 5am and then straight back into racing, Gartner did his hard charging reputation justice.
Doing a 2:07.43 on the return, Gartner again proves that excluding mechanical drama, he is a top series contender.
Danny Brown in the #42 Pro-Class buggy and Brad Gallard were both unable to start today’s return to Alice Springs leg following gearbox and engine issues.
The PKMS #454 proved un-repairable overnight, with a sensor issue rendering the big Jimco unusable. Brad Gallard is confident that the 5.8 litre Toyota PH9 V8 will make the truck a force to be reckoned with in Waikerie.
“It’s a disappointing result but our section times on track speak for themselves,” said Gallard. “I am comfortable with the PKMS truck now. When everything comes together we will be unstoppable.”
Struggling with power steering issues throughout the race weekend, Scott Modistach in the #496 Geiser Bros TT also recorded a DNF for the Finke.
The Toyo Tires Riverland Enduro kicks off on the 24th of July in Waikerie South Australia. Following a massive event in 2014, the 2015 enduro is already attracting the cream of the off-road racing community, with a podium hungry Team Toyo set to dominate.
