Spectacular dash-cam footage has been released showing the topsy-turvy view inside a truck that became airborne and crashed while travelling at 160km/h in the Finke Desert Race in central Australia.

Driver Mick Magher and navigator Bernie Webb walked away with only minor bruising from what Webb describes as a “properly big shunt” that played out over 60 metres during the 460-kilometre off-road race for bikes, cars and buggies.

Competitors drive through desert country from Alice Springs to the small remote community of Aputula (Finke) and back in the race, which is held annually over the King’s Birthday long weekend.

Webb and Magher were 10 kilometres north of Aputula when their trophy truck hit a dip and they suddenly found themselves airborne.

A video of the crash was released immediately after the race, but it is only now that the pair have shared the in-car footage. It shows them in the cab as the truck leaves the track and rolls over and over before finally coming to rest in a cloud of red dust. 

“For what looked like a pretty spectacular accident … I just wanted to show you really how safe it is in there,” Webb says, referring to the accident as “a bit of automotive gymnastics”.

In the edited in-car footage, Webb highlights required safety gear such as helmets, harnesses, window nets and fire-proof suits. He says that as soon as the truck came to rest, a hazard warning was automatically sent to race control and approaching competitors.

The navigator says the truck was in “remarkable shape” after the accident.

“The frame is a little bit bent and twisted  from the hit but you’ll see that where we were sitting in here is perfect, it’s exactly as it should be… there’s not one mark on anything in here. We’ve still got Starlink on the roof.”

Webb told the ABC he wasn’t frightened during the crash, but was aware he needed to hold on and “wait for the loud noises to stop”, adding: “It’s very much like being tumbled by a wave at the beach.”

Both he and Magher plan to return for next year’s Finke Desert Race, which will celebrate the event’s 50^th anniversary.

More than 600 competitors take part in the annual race, which started in 1976 when a group of local motorbike riders took up the challenge to race from Alice Springs to the Finke river and back. 

Today’s course is run along section of the old Ghan railway service track, and attracts about 10,000 spectators to watch drivers battle for two Kings of the Desert titles (one for bikes and one for buggies).

Organisers describe it as “one of the most difficult off-road courses in one of the most remote places in the world” and “the most fun you can have with a helmet on”.

Western Australia driver Travis Robinson won the car section of the 2025 race, while Corey Hammond won the motorbike section and Madi Healey was crowned Queen of the Desert.