Ben Grabham, seen here winning Finke in 2009, is on track for a fourth win in the great desert race.

Motorex KTM Off Road Racing’s Ben Grabham made it to Finke for the overnight stop as the fastest bike in the gruelling two-day 2011 Tattersall’s Finke Desert Race.

Grabham, from Bathurst in NSW, is a three-time Finke Desert Race winner (2007, 2008, and 2009) but had a DNF last year on day two of the event.

He completed today’s journey of the 226-kilometre track in a time of 1 hour, 58 minutes and 14 seconds as compared with the fastest first day time down the track last year of 1:58.42sec set by eventual winner Toby Price.

The KTM pair of Grabham and last year’s race winner Price duelled together for the lead with Grabham leading by eight seconds at the Deep Well control, 68 kilometres from the start.

At Bundooma (140 kilometres from the start) Grabham was 11 seconds ahead of Price, but at the 172 kilometre mark at Mt. Squires, Price went through 1 minute 32 seconds ahead of Grabham.

Things changed however on the last section of Saturday’s run (a distance of 54 kilometres Mt Squires/Finke) with Grabham coming over the line first and Price not featuring in the top 20 at the finish.

Price, who is Australia’s leading off-road rider, had succumbed to mechanical issues at the 190 kilometre mark from the start.

Second into Finke was another factory KTM of Fine first-timer Jarrod Bewley, with a time 2:02.11sec.

In third place was Alice Springs rider Ryan Branford anoard a Husaberg with a time of 2:05.00sec, followed by Jacob Smith (Honda) and Brad Williscroft (KTM).

Competitors camp overnight at Finke before making the return trip to the Alice Springs finish line on Monday.