Kialla's Madison Healey is looking to stage a three-peat in the iconic Finke Desert Race.
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Megan Fisher
Kialla motorcross talent Madison Healey is preparing to launch her Queen of the Desert title defence at the historic 50th anniversary 2026 Tatts Finke Race.
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The Greater Shepparton off-road rider, 21, has already tasted victory twice at the iconic annual event - which sees competitors from far and wide tackle some of the planet’s most testing terrain across a 460km distance.
Traversing the red dirt from Alice Springs to Aputula, the two-day event on the the King’s Birthday weekend between June 5 and 8, which is also the 50th anniversary of the Northern Territory spectacle.
The Goulburn Valley ace’s preparations for this gruelling foray through the desert has included participation in the ProMX MXW Championship, as well as representing Team Australia in the FIM Oceania Women’s Motocross Cup.
Having made the step up to 450cc class previously, Healey will now be aiming to secure a landmark three-peat against the country’s most gifted motocross riders.
Incredibly, she finished one hour, 11 minutes and 19 seconds ahead of the second placed competitor in the female class to retain her championship in style.
Her pathway to success started at the tender age of just three, when she was growing up on a dairy farm in Kialla.
“So I just grew up on a small, yeah, farm, country farm out of the Shepparton skirts,” she said, recalling her early days.
“I have two older brothers and my dad and we all raced when I was growing up, I guess, and, you know, mum tried to get me into pony club, but they sort of started to clash with my motorbike.
“So from the age of 6, I started racing, just doing local events around Shepparton and Cobram.”
Madison Healey is one of the Goulburn Valley's brightest motocross talents.
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The 2026 Tatts Finke Desert Race will take place between Alice Springs and Aputula between June 5 and 8 featuring Shepparton riders Madison Healey and Zandar Gooiker.
Looking ahead, as she vies to become a three-time Queen of the Desert, she is confident she can bring home the spoils once more.
“The first year I did it, the goal was just to get there and back and wherever I come, I didn't care,“ she said, speaking after making the trip up to the Northern Territory.
“Then obviously like last year was, that was more going to be the focus but to come out on top of my first year, I was rapt with that.
“It was definitely nothing like I've ever ridden before and it's so different to anything back at home.
“The atmosphere and the race itself just makes you come back and it changed a lot for me and my family winning that race.“
Having crossed the finish line alongside her partner Blaine last time out, she spoke of the support he has given during her rise to prominence.
“In the first year, Blaine was one of the ones in the main court encouraging me to sort of do this race and he just came up for the experience.
“He watched it that first year and he was like, ‘I want to do that’ - so to have him on board last year and just have someone sort of pushing me, it was really good just to have someone there.”
Outlining her objectives coming into this latest Tatts Finke Race, the youngster is eager to stage a three-peat when it comes to the Queen of the Desert title.
“The main goal is to come on top, I'm a lot more confident than I've ever been up here,” she said.
“We've spent quite a lot of time up here and I feel awesome on the bike - I've stepped up to a bigger bike this year on a 450 which as given me that extra speed that I need to stay on top of that rough stuff out there.“
You can listen to next episode of Shepparton News Meets with Madison Healey soon on our website or wherever you get your podcasts...
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