Dry old Don draws awesome off-road action

A wide dry river bed on the edge of Bowen is set to be flooded with off-road action in September in the second annual Don River Dash. The car and the bike with the best times will each earn the King of the River title for racers in the event, organised by Burdekin Offroaders. With its unique setting, club president Mike Marson is hoping it will become a stand-out event on the off-road racing calendar in the long run. "It's not about making money. It's just about putting on a cool race and hopefully we've started something that will end up being iconic in time," he said. "I'm really hoping in 10 years' time I look back on this and - I'm not saying it will be as big as the Finke Desert Race (in the NT) - but I'm hoping that it's something along those lines." Mr Marson said an estimated 2500-3500 spectators lined the banks and other vantage points to watch last year. Great action footage shared from the 2019 Don River Dash has helped boost interest this year. Mr Marson also attributed part of the upsurge in interest to the fact a number of other recent events had been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Competitors complete 310 km in two days over a circuit that is about 26km each way up and down the river and passes under the Don River Bruce Highway bridge and rail bridge. "The course is quite easy for us as a club to set up. It has its challenges - but you go up one side and come down other with well-defined exclusion zone in the middle," Mr Marson said. He said the 2020 event had already attracted a strong field of entries. "We're really excited about this year. We have some massive quality cars," Mr Marson said. "If I had to throw a figure out there I would have to think there would be $2 million or $3 million in race cars turning up. "And Bowen's got behind this 100 per cent, which is good. We are absolutely blown away by the support." More event details at https://www.facebook.com/burdekinoffroadersinc Check out this video of last year's event, filmed by Show 'n' Go Photography: https://www.facebook.com/showngophotography/videos/1198296400509521/UzpfSTExMjIzMDg5MjQ1NTkyNjQ6Mjk3NDE3MTAzOTM3MzAzNA/?__tn__%2Cd%2CP-R&eidARCeefK7AhAnWGiWy3T0AD7-lai8FbQdPimng4EVIOOgMYI9Izm2KRyjmsYNyIBsW2nGJciM18rd7YkP

Dry old Don draws awesome off-road action

Industry Queensland

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