The Finke Desert Race is an off-road, multi-terrain two-day race for motorbikes, cars, buggies and quad bikes through desert country from Alice Springs to the small and remote community of Aputula (called Finke until the 1980s) in Australia's Northern Territory.

After the success of this initial ride, the Finke Desert Race has been held annually on the King's Birthday long weekend ever since.

The race is run along sections of the Central Australia Railway along a winding corrugated track, which goes through the outback terrain of red dirt, sand, spinifex, mulga and desert oaks.

While originally the Finke was only a bike race, its increasing popularity saw the introduction of cars and off-road buggies in 1988.

[2] In 2021 about 200 Victorian competitors, plus race officials, were unable to attend when the Northern Territory classed all of Victoria as a hot spot after the state entered its fourth lockdown.