Finke Desert Race legends reflect on race ahead of 50th anniversary

Alice Springs resident and five time Finke champion David Walsh will race in the event again this weekend. (ABC News: Xavier Martin)

In 1976 about 60 motorbike riders lined up to test their skills and endurance in a race through the central Australian outback.

Little did they know, 50 years later, the 460 kilometre race from Alice Springs to Finke and back would be one of the most famous off-road races in the world: the Finke Desert Race.

The race takes place between Alice Springs and the remote Indigenous community of Finke. (ABC News: Sam Parry)

Alice Springs resident Geoff Curtis was the winner of the very first "Finke", as the race is colloquially known.

"Back then it was out into the unknown for Alice Springs and for racing … this was a long event, point to point," he said.

Alice Springs resident Geoff Curtis won the very first Finke Desert Race. (ABC Alice Springs: Victoria Ellis)

This weekend, the Finke Desert Race will celebrate its 50th anniversary.

Since its inception, the race has evolved to include racing buggies and trophy trucks.

Still just as exciting, red dirt will fly as vehicles hurtle over rough outback terrain at speeds up of to 180 kilometres per hour.

The race has attracted the likes of Toby Price, who holds the record for the most successful Finke competitor, with nine overall titles. (Supplied: Finke Desert Race)

Mr Curtis, who also won the race in 1978 and 1980, said during the first event there was only one fuel stop for racers, but now there were three.

The race attracts thousands of people to camp along the track and watch the spectacle. (ABC News: Michael Donnelly)

In 1976 Mr Curtis's winning time was around six hours, but nowadays the fastest riders will finish the race in less than four hours.

The event has grown rapidly, this year attracting more than 800 competitors across all categories.

Toby Price and navigator Jason Duncan celebrate winning. (ABC News: Xavier Martin)

Racing in Finke for the 25th time this weekend, Rick Hall first entered the race in 1989.

"It was one of the first events I saw when I first came to Alice Springs back in the '80s," he said.

Alice Springs resident and Finke Desert Race rider Rick Hall. (ABC Alice Springs: Victoria Ellis)

"When I first raced, it was whoops, which are basically a continuation of big humps along the track, fast open road sections and really sandy, boggy sections," he said.

"Now it's more standing up and a lot more physically demanding."

The race brings the whole of the Alice Springs community together as 'Finke fever' takes over the town. (ABC News: Xavie