Desert race win a 'long overdue good news story for Mitsubishi'

Townsville off-road team Geoff Pickering and Glenn Watson have won overall honours in the gruelling 460km Finke Desert race, outside Alice Springs, in Australia's Northern Territory.

"No doubt about it, that was the toughest of our Finke wins," said Pickering after crossing the finish line in the team's Mitsubishi Pajero.

"It is unbelievable that a standard Pajero can not only win its class, but also finish ahead of purpose-built, off-road race cars from Jeep and Holden.

"It's testament to the strength and reliability of the vehicle, and a good news story that is long overdue," he added, referring to Mitsubishi's recent problems in Japan.

The race - a leg of the Australian Off-Road Championships - is held over two days with a mix of motorcycles, quad bikes, off-road buggies and four-wheel-drives competing over 250km of rugged outback roads to Finke, where they camp overnight before heading 250km back to Alice Springs.


This year the race had to tackle some of the roughest conditions in its 30-year history. Recent heavy rain in Australia's Red Centre had badly eroded the outback road, causing many vehicles to pull out with mechanical damage.

"I can't remember the road conditions being rougher than this," said Pickering. "The conditions made the performance of the Pajero all the more remarkable."

Pickering and Watson left Finke for The Alice, comfortable in second spot behind Bruce Garland in a modified Mitsubishi Triton ute. But Garland struck mechanical problems, allowing the Pajero to slip past. However, he was soon back in the race and managed to overtake Pickering and Watson before a damaged gearbox slowed him down.

Garland eventually limped home to give Mitsubishi a one-two finish in the four-wheel-drive category.

The win by Pickering and Watson, their third in a row in the Finke race, secures their place on the top of the four-wheel-drive points table in the championship.

The next round is the Pines Enduro in South Australia.