David Walsh has shattered the overall Bike race record at the 2022 Tatts Finke Desert Race to seal his third straight King of the Desert crown.
The hometown hero continued his domination of the race on the return journey from Finke to Alice Springs, recording an overall race time of 3 hours 35 minutes and 45 seconds.
After starting the race from third, Walsh – whose wife is expected to give birth tomorrow – smashed the Bike race record set by this year’s Car King of the Desert Toby Price by a whopping 11.1 minutes.
The hometown hero blitzed his own overall race time from 2019 by a staggering 20.56 minutes, with second place Jacob Smith (#9) adrift by a further 2.24 minutes in what is his 13th consecutive Finke Desert Race campaign.
Only 43.4 seconds separated Smith from West Australian Jack Simpson (#2), who completed the podium in third.
“I’m speechless,” an emotional Walsh said in parc ferme.
“The whole way home I just kept telling myself to shut up and look at the track because there was still some nasty stuff out there. You only win if you cross the line.
“I’m looking forward to having a beer with family, kicking back and bringing on this new baby.”
Luke Hayes (#12) crossed the Start/Finish line in seventh ahead of Sam Davie (#298) in eighth – both dropping one position from their Race Day 1 result.
Ben Grabham (#721) finished the 226km journey from Finke (Aputula) in ninth, while Rick Ireland completed the Top 10 with a time of 3 hours 52.03 minutes.
Complete results from the 2022 Tatts Finke Desert Race for the Bike category can be viewed here.
