Ford claims bragging rights over GM at Finke

Ford Australia claimed back-to-back Production 4WD class honours at the 2024 Finke Desert Race over the long weekend, after cross-town rival Chevrolet failed to finish the gruelling ‘there-and-back’ off-road endurance event.

The Ford Ranger Raptor ute driven by American driver Brad Lovell and navigated by his son Byum Lovell completed the return journey from the remote Aboriginal community of Aputula (Finke) to Alice Springs yesterday uncontested, in a time of five hours 58 minutes and 23 seconds.

Meantime the Chevrolet Silverado ZR2 pick-up entry driven by Craig Lowndes and navigator Dale Moscatt suffered a mechanical issue midway through the return 224km leg.

Importantly, the win hands Ford a moral victory in the enduring Ford-versus-GM (the former owner of Holden) battle.

“I’d like to congratulate the Lovells and the Ford team on their class win. Dale and I have thoroughly enjoyed the battle with each other here at Finke,” said seven-time Bathurst winner Lowndes.

“The Silverado was tough all weekend, from taking out prologue and line honours to day one, but unfortunately we were beaten by the desert today.”

Ford wasn’t without its own dramas during the Finke event, which many competitors have described as one of the toughest in memory due to the rough conditions of the track following recent rainfall.

On day one, the Raptor suffered rear suspension issues which caused Lovell to drive the final 130km with a damaged shock absorber and a chassis rail issue.

It allowed team Chevrolet to gain four minutes on the defending Production class champions.

On the return leg, the Ranger closed the gap to the leading car before its ultimate retirement, with the Ford subsequently nursed home to the finish line.

“Finke threw everything it had at us but we held on, conquered the desert and came away with the win,” said Brad Lovell.

“The run to Finke from Alice Springs was extremely testing, but we knew early on we had the pace required to win if we played our cards right.

“Starting the second day the pressure was on and we had a job to do chasing down the Chevy guys. We made great pace as soon as we started, with the Ranger Raptor running flawlessly.

“Craig and the Chevy guys really kept us on our toes all weekend. It was fantastic to have some strong competition out there and I hope that more people join the fun in the coming years.”

Ford and Chevrolet have separately hinted about plans to return to Finke in 2025, though nothing has yet been publicly confirmed.

Meanwhile, the official ‘King of the Desert’ crown was taken out was Beau Robinson and Shane Hutt in the cars division, while David Walsh made it five Finke wins in a row aboard his KTM motorcycle.

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