Finke lived up to its notorious reputation as a destroyer of man and machine this morning but Billy Geddes managed to overcome all the Simpson Desert could throw at him, arriving in Finke for a solid eighth place.
Over the course of the morning, the Simpson sands began taking out favourites and front-runners with equal regularity. Greg Gartner’s F 150 Trophy Truck succumbed to engine problems within the first 30 kilometres and was forced to retire, a far cry from his trailblazing win in 2011.
Brad Gallard suffered a worse fate when the electrical gremlins that surfaced in prologue finished his Finke campaign before he’d even left Alice Springs. Brad made it down to Finke via charter plane instead, lending his support to Toyo Racing teammate and fellow Geiser Bros Trophy truck driver Billy Geddes.
Jack Rhodes couldn’t build on his blistering prologue pace, registering his second DNF in the brutal desert torture test. Gerald Reid’s fortunes changed when an axle snapped on his Pro Buggy just 20 kilometres from Finke. The hour spent replacing the sheared metal put him further down the grid, but he’s looking to climb the ladder again tomorrow morning. The weather didn’t play to Bruce Garland’s strengths, but he still managed a very respectable second place in his Extreme 4WD class, from which we reckon he’ll win. Fingers crossed!
Starting first from Finke tomorrow is South Australian Hayden Bentley. He took outright honours back in 2007, and he’ll be fighting to put buggies back on top of the podium this year. Following him is Beau Robinson’s Trophy Truck, which is said to have one of the most aggressive racers in the event. Case in point – Beau rolled end over end in last year’s event, eventually landing on his wheels, then went on to take a podium spot.
So it was definitely a case of mixed fortunes on the first day, with quite a few hopefuls losing out to the epic brutality of the track. Our money’s on Billy Geddes to net a podium and keep his strong Australian Off Road Championship position and for Bruce Garland to take class honours again this year.
