A young, first-time competitor in this weekend's Finke Desert Race has had his bike stolen during the journey from his hometown in New South Wales to Central Australia.  

Logan Frost is just old enough to compete in the two-day off-road motorsport event, at 16-and-a-half years old.

He was travelling to Alice Springs from Conawindra with his father, Stewart Frost, when his bike was allegedly stolen overnight from a motel car park in the underground town of Coober Pedy in South Australia. 

"I was probably sleeping 20-foot from it," Stewart Frost said.

"My wife got up this morning about six ... and she just opened the door and looked out and said the bike's not there."

Logan Frost said he had been preparing for the trip since he visited Alice Springs to watch the Finke Desert Race last year, and decided he wanted to compete.

"I was very shook this morning ... very shook and angry."

Toughest off-road event in Australia

The annual Finke Desert Race is billed as the greatest of its kind in the country, and has traditionally given first-time competitors the opportunity to race against some of the biggest names in motorsport. 

In recent years, the event has attracted more than 600 competitors in the bike category and about 150 cars.

Competitors race along a remote 230-kilometre track between Alice Springs and Aputula (Finke) and then back the next day. 

New safety regulations will be implemented this year in response to the death of spectator Nigel Harris, who was hit by a vehicle that veered off the track in last year's event. 

This year's event will start on Thursday with a street party in Alice Springs and bikes and cars will begin the race on Sunday.  

Silver lining

Stewart Frost said he and his family had stayed in Coober Pedy on Tuesday instead of continuing on to Alice Springs, hoping for the return of his son's bike.

They offered a $3,000 reward on social media to get the bike back immediately. 

SA Police said they were investigating the theft and asked for anyone with information to contact Crime Stoppers. 

But Logan Frost will still be able to cut his teeth in the iconic race, thanks to friends who have flown to Alice Springs for the event and offered him a spare bike. 

The bike is more powerful than the one Logan has lost – a 500 class, instead of a 350 class. 

Logan said he did not feel "too fazed" about riding a different bike, but that his mum had "other opinions on that."