The wife of the Canberra man killed in the Finke Desert Race in the Northern Territory on Monday has shared her grief at losing the "loving family man".
Nigel Harris died after a vehicle veered off the track into spectators, about 35 kilometres near the start/finish line of the course.
Sheryl Harris said her wonderful husband was also a father to two beautiful children, Melinda and Mark, as well as a "proud poppy" to their granddaughter Evelyn.
She said he was also very proud of his 22-year service in the Royal Australian Navy.
"Since his years in the navy, he worked for Border Force for about 20 years and recently retired last year," Mrs Harris said. "His dream in his retirement was to do a lot of camping and explore Australia."
Mrs Harris said her husband, an amateur photographer, had always expressed a desire to take photographs of the Finke races.
"In his daily multiple phone calls home he would often comment on how much he was enjoying the experience and his chats around campfires with people he was meeting," she said. "The family and I are grieving him terribly."
The 60-year-old Canberra man died at the scene of the incident on Monday morning. Another male spectator in his 50s was seriously injured, while a woman, believed to be the vehicle navigator, was also hurt.
The car race aspect of the event was called off shortly afterwards, and the area around the site was declared a crime scene, with NT police investigating the cause of the crash.
Spectators who witnessed the incident spoke about "the worst day [they've] ever had", including a fellow photographer who was standing with Mr Harris moments before the tragedy.
Mrs Harris said her husband would have wanted the driver to be able to move on and for the race to continue.
"Those would have been his wishes," she said.
NT police escorted more than 400 motorbike riders from Finke back to Alice Springs after the bike leg of the race was also cancelled.
Southern region commander Craig Laidler thanked the first responders and gave his condolences to Mr Harris's family.
"Our thoughts are with the man's family and friends during this difficult time, and with the second spectator who was injured," Commander Laidler said.
