THE heat is rising in the central Australian desert and Mount Gambier’s Kent Collins is about to face it head on.
Collins is set to compete in his seventh Finke Desert Race in the motorcycle category, with a real chance of finishing towards the pointy end of the field yet again.
He has finished fourth the last two years and is shaping up as a favourite to stand on the podium at the end of the gruelling two-day main event.
The weekend of June 7-10 will see bikes, quads, cars and buggies converge on Alice Springs for the race to the small Aputula (Finke) community and back the following day.
A prologue on the Saturday decides starting positions, before the race is on in earnest.
Collins rides a 500cc KTM for his small family team based out of Yahl.
His fourth place last year was impressive considering the eventual winner Toby Price – some 35 minutes up the dusty track – has competed in both the bike and car categories in the same year on more than one occasion and won the coveted Dakar rally twice.
In his six previous years at the event Collins has continually moved up the rankings, learning from each run.
It is a gruelling race, with the heat and dust two of the main problems faced by competitors, but also the reason so many return year after year, including Collins.
“It is very taxing and unique,” he said.
“There is not really anywhere else in Australia with the same conditions.
“I think that is why it is so special.
“There is always the thought, ‘can I do one better?’.
“You become obsessed with it, wanting improve your results, trying to get on the box or win it.”
Rider speeds vary over the course.
Many average around 100kph, but Collins is regularly up around the 160kph mark.
To sustain that level of intensity for a touch over two hours, then back up and do it all over again the following day takes a high level of fitness.
But Collins said it is also about conditioning and mental focus.
“The more you do it, the easier it comes to you,” he said.
“You really have to take the time to go up earlier in the year and do time on the track so your body is used to it, then on race day it is easier.
“But it is probably a harder race mentally than physically.
“You have to have 100pc concentration for just over two hours and it can be really hard to keep your mind on track – you can actually start day dreaming, then you might have a moment.
“That is hard to train for.
“It is a tough deal, but what you put in, you get out.”
Collins said to finish 35 minutes behind Price showed he was off the pace last year, but he accepted the race winner was a special rider.
“There is a time frame those guys can run and that is about the fastest possible way you can go down that track,” he said.
“It is good having guys like him do it to gauge yourself on.
“That is the benchmark and that is what you have to work towards.”
However, many riders cannot keep up the relentless pace Collins and others in the top 10 are capable of.
“It is pretty much a two-hour sprint each day,” he said.
“That is one of reasons it is so unique.
“But you almost become comfortable doing it.
“Once you ride it, that is just the pace it is, so you get used to it.”
Even to finish the Finke is a feat worth celebrating.
The tough desert course takes no prisoners and only the brave cross the finish line.
While some may look at the final results and see a rider down the list, Collins said that still may be an impressive result.
He said it was more important for him to improve on last year’s times, with the final result left to the desert.
“To keep myself calm, to try to stay relaxed, for me it is about trying to improve my time from last year,” he said.
“I could be five minutes quicker than last year, but 10 positions worse – the result might not be there.
“You cannot beat yourself up if the results on paper do not look that good.”
With that in mind there are some hopes this year of a further move up the overall standings.
That would involve a podium finish, which is certainly not out of the picture, especially considering Price will not compete in the bike category this year.
That would be something the Mount Gambier rider would embrace, although he said to finish with a good result would be just as pleasing.
“In my head I would like a podium, but if I could finish top five again it would be good,” he said.
“For me, when you finish with a decent result you know you have pulled it off.
“We do everything ourselves – me, mum and dad basically – so it is also the satisfaction of being able to stick it to the bigger teams with something you have basically made yourself.”
