With less than a litre of fuel in the tank Andrew Commins of Westlime Parkes and Canowindra crossed the finish line as the fourth truck home in the gruelling 2025 Finke Desert Race, placing 13th outright.
This was no small feat with only 56 trucks finishing out of the 103 that started one of the most difficult offroad races in one of the most remote places in the world.
Unfortunately Andrew's brother Nick Commins, alongside navigator Ryan Galvin, was amongst the 47 competitors who didn't complete the race after suffering mechanical failure just 25km into day one despite an exceptional qualifying lap that had placed him fourth overall.
The two-day Finke Desert Race is 460km stretching from Alice springs to the remote Aputula (Finke) community and back.
This race is one of the biggest annual sporting events in the Northern Territory with bikes, buggies and trucks racing through punishing desert terrain in what many describe as the pinnacle of Australian offroad racing.
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"The biggest challenge was the track this year being so rough, the most rough people have seen it," Andrew said.
"In previous years you often get a rest in some sections because it's not rough but it was basically rough the whole 230km there and back. It was very hard going but challenging and fun to be able to keep driving fast in those conditions, I couldn't even look at the dash, you had to concentrate that hard you couldn't look down."
Andrew and co-driver Anthony Cook had a rough start to the race.
On day one they stopped to assist an accident putting out a fire and encountered multiple minor mechanical issues that cost them valuable time placing them 30th outright for day one.
"Day one was a bit disappointing because we had a couple of issues but they were only minor but they cost us time."
But on day two, the duo powered through traffic and found their rhythm on the track.
"Day two was perfect, we didn't even scratch the truck," Andrew said.
"It was as rough as most people have seen the track so it was a really nice edge between going fast and crashing in those conditions."
Though they narrowly missed a top 10 finish, Andrew said the team was proud of their recovery.
"We feel like we could of easily been in the 10 if we didn't have the dramas on day one."
Meanwhile, in the other Westlime truck, Nick was forced out early despite a strong start.
"Nick did an exceptional qualifying lap qualifying fourth but then had a failure at the 25km dune on the first day that put him out which was pretty disappointing especially after qualifying fourth in a pretty experienced and fast field out the front, probably the most it's bee for a long time."
This race was also emotionally significant for the brothers as it was their first Finke without their dad.
"Dad usually raced with us. He was a huge part of the team," Andrew shared.
"He actually competed in Finke himself. We got into off-road racing together-Dad, Nick, and me. It started with go-karts when we were kids, and we just took on a new challenge.
"Now my son’s involved too, so for a while we had three generations racing together. We lost Dad in December, but I'm sure he was there in spirit."
Despite the heartbreak and hardships Finke is guaranteed to produce each year, the brothers keep returning for one reason, the challenge.
"It's the hardest race of the year on the machinery and driver, it's the pinnacle of Australian offroad racing.
"It's so heavily supported, hundreds of campers go out there and watch and so many people are passionate about it and it's an incredible event to go and be part of but mainly it's the challenge of getting there with both machinery and driver."
Andrew and Nick will now continue their 2025 campaign in the Australian Off Road Championship heading to Loveday, South Australia in late July for round three.
"We've got a really good team of guys that help us, we all get involved and we all work on the trucks. We're pretty fortunate," Andrew added.
