HAMILTON motorbike enthusiasts, Daniel Showler and Rhyan Eales, have caught ‘Finke Fever’ after competing in the annual Finke Desert Race in the Northern Territory.

The prestigious race attracts hundreds of motorbike riders and cross country car drivers, with the local pair competing in the event earlier this month.

“I’m told that ‘Finke Fever’ is caught after competing in the event for the first time, and after my first race this year, I definitely have it,” Showler said.

The Finke Desert Race is an event held in Central Australia over two days of the recent Queen’s Birthday long weekend, where the entrants race to Apatula from Alice Springs and back again, covering 226kms each way along the old service road for The Ghan railway route.

To gain an idea of the conditions that the competitors face, much of the race is staged partly in the dry bed of the Finke River with flinty shale rocks, deep sand and hard clay sections that allow the racers to reach speeds of 140km plus.

A total of 550 competitors lined up in the motorbikes section of the race this year, while 150 cars also took part in the event and despite having to cover 226km each day, the event is regarded as a sprint.

Both men achieved the results that they had set for themselves with Eales finishing 145th and Showler 207th of the 550 entrants which for both was outstanding.

“I had finished in 222nd place in my first attempt back in 2019 before COVID intervened and stopped the running of the event for the past two years, but I had set the goal of breaking the 200 barrier in that first attempt so I was desperate to do better this year.” Eales said.

The desert race is a stand-alone event and there is no series of races of this type that the pair can enter, but rather they compete in pony express events in the south west and these one-off events.

Unlike such famous events as the Dakar Rally that many people envisage when thinking about motorbike racing over land, the Finke is a pure desert race where the entrants must lose their inner voice that tells them when to slow down.

“The toughest part of the race is the mental battle as the race itself is not as physical as other events,” Eales said.

“It is a nasty track that takes its toll on the riders as you have to switch off the little voice that says slow down as you need to go as fast as possible for the entire distance.”

Showler echoed the sentiment that the inner spirit needed to come out during the race.

“Rhyan said I had to do it (the race) and I’m so glad that he did,” said Showler.

“The experience was fantastic, and I will definitely be back next year.

“I wasn’t sure what to expect, but now after experiencing it first-hand, it certainly lived up to all my expectations and then some.”

Both men have motorbikes “in their blood” with both being members of the Hamilton Motorbike Club and Eales is the secretary.

Between now and next year though, both men will hone their skills at various events such as the Hamilton Pony Express which will be held in August at the club’s track on Marshalls Road and the adjoining pine forest which will see a circuit of approximately 15km test all the riders.