Quad bike champ relieved to finish ‘Australia’s muddiest endurance race’
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Billed as "Australia's muddiest endurance race", the 2018 Kamfari Motorcycle Mud Race was another fast-paced spectacle for riders and spectators alike.
In its 47th year, the iconic Territory competition took place in scrubland just off the Dundee turnoff, about an hour south of Darwin on Sunday.
There were 55 riders registered for the race, across both bikes and quads.
"That first corner looks a little bit scary, I gotta say. If anyone gets through there, then I reckon you're in good chances," one rider told the ABC.
"I'm not sore yet, but I will be [after] four hours," another said.
It was the second year the enduro race has been run at the track near the Cox Peninsula road, having previously been held in Palmerston and Howard Springs.
Race director Alastair McCorkelle said the rough terrain made for an exciting race.
"We're really happy with the track; it's a good location, good country and I think the crowd like it too," he said.
But as if the dense scrubland was not already tough enough, the organisers worked hard to create a number of "bog spots" to pose an extra challenge for the riders.
"Last year was really easy because we had a big wet, which made it easy to put in the challenging track. This year was a bit harder to find the wet spots, but we managed to do it," Mr McCorkelle said.
Dozens of riders found themselves bogged throughout the day, many not able to get back out.
Even race winner for the bikes, defending champion Chris Warwick, said the mud was a real danger.
"There weren't too many boggy spots like last year, but there were a couple of really bad ones and they caught a lot of people out," he said.
Winner for the quads, Phillip Nathanael, said he was relieved to have made it to the finish line.
"[I'm] glad it's over. There were many times I thought I wouldn't finish," he said.
"I was on limp mode nearly every lap."
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