Travis Robinson claims Finke Desert Race crown

AFTER decades of chasing it, and a few heartbreaking breakdowns within spitting distance of glory, Travis Robinson has finally claimed the Finke Desert Race crown.

The Northern Rivers driver, long considered one of the sport’s most respected figures alongside his brother Beau, crossed the line in Alice Springs to take the 2025 title, shaking off years of near misses and mechanical failures.

“We were obviously very nervous,” Robinson said of the final leg.

“I’ve been leading the race a lot of times where I’ve had problems on the way home. You think it’s in the bag, and then bang, it’s all over. You start hearing things in the car. Maybe it’s real, maybe it’s just paranoia. But you can’t relax till you cross that line.”

 

This year, there was no last-minute heartbreak. Just a clean, controlled run and a lifelong dream finally realised.

“I’ve been in motorsport long enough to know anything can happen,” Robinson said.

“Not until we came across the finish did we know we had it won. We were tiptoeing around the last corners. I’ve watched the video since — you can see it.”

Robinson’s connection to Finke runs deep. His father raced the desert in the late ’80s and ’90s, narrowly missing victory multiple times.

Fuel shortages and gearbox failures robbed him of what might have been, but his passion for the event set the tone for the family.

 

“We sort of grew up out here. I was just a baby with Mum while Dad was racing. He got close but never quite cracked it. Me and my brother, we ended up doing it at a different level. For years, we were the ones to beat. We were the benchmark, and yet we’d never actually won it as a family.”

That changed last year, when Beau finally claimed the title. And now, back-to-back, Travis has followed suit.

“It’s bittersweet,” he said. “Dad actually passed away two years ago. He tried to win it for 35 years. Now, in the two years since he’s been gone, his sons have gone back-to-back.”

This year’s event drew roughly 10,000 spectators, with fans camping along the 446-kilometre round trip between Alice Springs and the remote community of Apatula. The course, which stretches across some of the harshest terrain in the country, was at its most brutal in years.

 

“It was as rough as I can remember,” Robinson said. “A few years ago it had been graded, wasn’t too bad. But now, yeah, it’s back. It’s proper Finke again. The carnage out there tells the story.”

The car that carried him to victory was a fresh weapon: a new Mason Motorsports four-wheel-drive truck, built in California and almost untested before race weekend.

“We’d only had it for a week and a half before the event. It’s similar to Beau’s, but a 4WD — a bit of a new thing in Australia. We hadn’t had much seat time in it, let alone at full noise. So to come out and just go for it was pretty unreal.”

He credits much of the win to his cousin and navigator, Paul Currie.

 

“Paul’s basically like a brother to me,” he said. “He’s been in and out of the car with me for a few years. I put him back in because he keeps me on task. We build the game plan together, and he helps execute it. He’s a smooth operator.”

Their strategy was tight, deliberate, and clearly effective.

“With prologue, I just wanted to keep it clean. Let the car do the work. It suits my driving style — more point-and-shoot these days, not so much the big sideways and roost stuff. On the way down, we thought we took it a bit conservative, just got a feel for the car. But it turned out to be a pretty good time. Then we turned it up on the way home and cruised back with a good lead. It all clicked.”

Robinson finished the race in 3 hours, 24 minutes and 35 seconds. Beau followed close behind, just under five minutes later.

 

It was a one-two finish for the Robinson brothers — a historic first for the event.

The 2025 race also saw big results in other categories, with Corey Hammond crowned King of the Desert in the bike division, and Madi Healey named Queen of the Desert for the second year running.

While most competitors completed the race safely, health services confirmed that more than 40 people were treated at Alice Springs Hospital during the weekend. One man was flown to Adelaide with a serious head injury sustained during the event.

Robinson says the win is more than just a trophy. It’s a release.

“It’s a lifelong dream, yeah. Since I was a young bloke. But more than that, it’s just a huge relief. It’s been a big weight on me for a long time. Now I can start to focus on other things — family, business. That pressure’s finally gone.”