Don River Dash delivers another successful chapter in Bowen
The eighth annual Don River Dash, organised and run by the Burdekin Offroaders club, has been hailed a great success, with competitors and spectators enjoying another action packed weekend of off road racing in the Don River at Bowen.
But while the event may have been familiar, the track certainly wasn't.
Heavy rainfall and flooding across the region during the early months of 2026 dramatically changed the landscape of the Don River, washing away large quantities of sand and much of the vegetation that had previously grown through the centre of the river.
The result was a completely different race track for competitors to tackle this year.
Preparing the 300-kilometre course also presented a significant challenge for the event team. Residual water from the earlier rainfall remained in parts of the river, requiring extensive work with heavy machinery to prepare a safe and raceable track.
Hundreds of hours of preparation went into creating two 25-kilometre race tracks — one running upstream and the other downstream — along with a separate exclusion-zone track through the centre of the river to allow safety and recovery vehicles to operate.
Once the racing began, however, it was the competitors who had to deal with the unique conditions.
Comiskey conquers the Don in brand-new truck
The car section produced a remarkable victory for Brett Comiskey, with navigator Corey Cooper, taking the chequered flag in a brand-new Class 8 Mason all-wheel-drive truck.
The pair completed the 300-kilometre course in a total time of 2 hours and 38 minutes.
Even more remarkably, Comisky had virtually no seat time in the new truck before the weekend — his only previous drive had been to drive it off the trailer when it arrived.
Comiskey said “this was an awesome event, it had traffic, dust and water – everything we love in off road racing. I’ve had 4 DNFs in the past at The Don and one podium – so it’s been a hard road to the top step and I’m glad to have achieved it.” (DNF – Did not Finish)
Comisky and Cooper were joined on the podium by Brad Belcher and navigator Russell Newman, with Seeton Battle and navigator Nathan Cade rounding out the top three.
Stephens takes the bike victory
In the early afternoon on both race days, attention turned to the bikes as riders tackled the demanding river course.
The deep sand, water crossings and constantly changing conditions provided a serious test of rider strength, endurance and skill.
Novocastrian Levi Stephens, who finished second in the 2025 Don River Dash, went one better this year to take the bike victory with a total race time of 2 hours and 50 minutes.
Queenslander Eli Englebrecht claimed second place with a total time of 2 hours and 57 minutes, while fellow Queenslander Tomas Kruger completed the podium in third with a time of 2 hours and 59 minutes.
The challenging conditions provided plenty of excitement for spectators lining the river, while competitors were once again pushed to their limits across one of Australia's most unique off-road racing courses.
“An event like the Don River Dash simply doesn't happen without an enormous team of people behind it. Our volunteers, officials, recovery crews, track preparation teams, sponsors and the wider community all play such an important role in making this event possible. Their commitment and effort, both in the lead-up and across the race weekend, is what makes the Don River Dash such a special event for Bowen and the Whitsunday region,” said Burdekin Offroaders President Michael Marson.
With eight events now under its belt, the Don River Dash continues to cement its reputation as one of Australia's most distinctive off-road racing events — bringing competitors, crews and spectators from across the country to Bowen and the Whitsunday region.
