The organisers of the Finke Desert Race have introduced a suite of changes to the famous event following the death of a spectator this year,
Nigel Harris died when he was struck by a vehicle that veered off the track while competing in the race in June.
Twenty-seven people were hospitalised with injuries sustained at the race weekend this year, with eight people medically evacuated from Alice Springs to Adelaide.
Permanent changes to entry requirements now herald the end of the race's reputation as a unique challenge where rookies can ride alongside some of the biggest names in motorsport.
"We used to be quite proud of the fact that anybody could get a licence and could compete in our event," Finke Desert Race President Antony Yoffa said.
"The average, everyday punter could race against the country's best, or arguably the world's best.
"The level and standard of the competition has gone up, the speed has gone up, the deterioration of the track is quite marked.
Experienced riders only, and no quad bikes
The annual two-day off-road event — which is billed as 'Australia's greatest desert race' — started in 1976 as a challenge for local motorbike riders from Alice Springs to race to the small community of Aputula (Finke) and back.
In recent years, the event has attracted more than 600 competitors in the bike category and approximately 150 cars.
From next year, all entrants in both the bike and car categories must have either competed in the Finke Desert Race before or participated in a similar off-road race.
Mr Yoffa said that would have a significant impact on the bike race, where 50 per cent of competitors each year were "first-timers."
Prospective competitors will be allowed to apply for special dispensation if they fall outside of this criteria, and those applications will be assessed on a case-by-case basis by the race committee.
Quad bikes will be also eliminated from the event.
Mr Yoffa said the Finke Desert Race had an exemption to allow quad bikes to race alongside other bikes, which ordinarily would not be allowed, but it had become too difficult to keep them separate.
Improved safety for spectators
Mr Yoffa says there will also be a "considerable number of changes" to how the race can be viewed by the thousands of spectators that flock to camp alongside the 230-kilometre desert track.
Mr Yoffa said there would be marked exclusion zones along the track and that the race committee had received legal opinion that additional signage was needed on the fencing.
An independent medical director, who will oversee the event, will be appointed on the recommendation of Motorsport Australia.
The governing body's director, Michael Smith, said that recommendation was not directly linked to Mr Harris's death, or the number of serious injuries sustained by competitors.
Motorsport Australia will also hire an additional person with a "very specialist and unique set of skills" to assist local event organisers with running the event.
Mr Smith said it was still "to early" to comment on Motorsport Australia's investigation into Mr Harris's death at the 2021 event.
NT Police said its separate investigation was also ongoing.
The 2022 Finke Desert Race is scheduled to take place on June 9-13, 2022.
