The spectator killed at the Finke Desert Race in Central Australia is being remembered as a "wonderful" family man and keen adventurer who loved photography.
Canberra retiree Nigel Harris died when he was struck by a vehicle that veered off the track while competing in the race on Monday.
In a social media post Sheryl Harris thanked family, friends and the wider community for their kind messages since the accident.
"My husband was a wonderful man, husband, father and grandfather to his beautiful Evelyn and would have been touched by your words," Mrs Harris said.
"Those would have been his wishes."
Mrs Harris said her husband was proud of his 22 years' service in the Navy and of the two decades he worked for Border Force.
She said he retired last year and that it was his dream to "do a lot of camping and explore Australia."
"He had always expressed a desire to take photographs of the Finke River races," she said.
"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.
Multiple injuries at event
The Royal Flying Doctor Service said eight people were medically evacuated from Alice Springs to Adelaide.
Among them was a 56-year-old man who suffered serious injuries when he was hit by the vehicle that crashed into the crowd.
He remained in a stable condition at Adelaide's Flinders Hospital on Wednesday.
St John Ambulance regional manager Andrew Everingham said emergency crews tended to multiple patients with spinal injuries, including a competitor who fell from his motorbike on Monday afternoon while more than 500 riders travelled back to Alice Springs under police escort after the race was cancelled.
"He [fell] off his bike and somehow was run over by a quad bike and other motorbikes," Mr Everingham said.
"He sustained some traumatic injuries, and he was stabilised on scene by our event medical staff and then transferred to Alice Springs Hospital in a serious but stable condition."
St John Ambulance says paramedics treated 37 people at the race over the weekend, with 27 requiring further treatment in hospital.
Not time to change, champ says
Alice Springs rider David Walsh was named King of the Desert for his record run to Finke on day one of event.
He said while he wanted to defend his title "all the way home", the event organisers made the right decision to call the return race off.
"Everyone's safety is paramount," Walsh said.
"It's a race, but we all want to get home and we all have family members, so that's all that matters.
Walsh said the event should go ahead in the future and did not think the way spectators could view the race should change.
"I don't want this to tarnish this event at all because it's big, it's great and it needs to keep going," he said.
