Wes Miller Finishes Second at Finke Desert Race in Australia

Wes Miller, founder of H-Bomb Media and the Bomb Squad, took to the red-soil trails of the Outback as he managed to finish second after two grueling days of racing. Tattersall’s Finke Desert Race is considered by many to be Australia’s version of the Baja 1000 and was held June 11-13. GBC Motorsports provided Miller with X-Rex tires to help him tackle the rough Aussie terrain as he competed with some of the fastest racers in the southern hemisphere.

Miller has plenty of experience in off-road racing, winning four Baja 500s in as many years as well as two Baja 1000s and three straight SCORE championships. Most recently, Miller helped teammates Wayne Matlock and Josh Caster win the Open Pro ATV Class in the 2011 Baja 500, just a week before the Finke Desert Race was set to begin. The team is leading in points in the 2011 SCORE season and is poised to win another championship.

Following a quick turnaround Miller and his crew spent the week in Alice Springs, Australia building a quad from the ground up. As title sponsor for Miller’s endeavor, GBC Motorsports provided X-Rex tires for the race.

“GBC has a long history of supporting racing, and when I approached them about this event, they were 100% behind it,” Miller said. He powered his way into second place overall aboard a Honda TRX700XX, equipped with X-Rex tire.

“GBC’s X-Rex tires offer great traction and puncture resistance,” he went on to say. “They also work really well in a variety of terrain, which is what I needed for this type of race.”

After qualifying eighth, Miller managed to finish the first day of racing in second, less than two minutes behind the leader. During the second day of racing Miller was able to close the gap on the leader, but could not quite make up the deficit.

“I gave it my best and I felt that I rode the 700XX as fast as I could go in those conditions,” says Miller. “And I had no flats for the entire 280 miles.”

Miller noted that there was less terrain variation than is typical of Baja races, but that Finke had its share of surprises.

“The whoops are brutal, but it reminded me more of a groomed high speed grand prix course in the US,” says Miller, who averaged 52.58 mph on his quad. “The racers there are definitely fast and I feel like they approach the event with more of a kamikaze attitude. I definitely tip my hat to the Aussie riders.”