Home › Forums › General Bike Talk › 2010 Australian Safari starts today
This topic contains 31 replies, has 0 voices, and was last updated by 
-
AuthorPosts
-
September 17, 2010 at 10:28 am #98958
Well the Safari kicked of today. Things of interest Craig Lowndes in a PWR 5.7L Holden, KTM team all 530 mounted, GHR all 450’s and the number one plate. Will Ben’s Pirelli hold together this year and he regain his number 1 on the KTM? How will AJ go on the CRF, he was leading last year when he broke his collar bone.
Entry list here, bikes page 2.
A safe ride to all, will watch with interest
TB
September 17, 2010 at 10:39 am #187518? I thought I had read the Benny was giving it a miss this year ????
Good luck to him anyway, he has had a bad run since joinig the Pumpkin Team :laugh:
September 17, 2010 at 10:44 am #187525reckon you should have entered eagle i reckon you would be the first kawasaki rider home for sure :woohoo: :woohoo:
September 17, 2010 at 10:49 am #187526white rocket wrote:
Quote:reckon you should have entered eagle i reckon you would be the first kawasaki rider home for sure :woohoo: :woohoo:
Ok, Might give it a run next year Al :laugh: :woohoo:NOT
September 17, 2010 at 10:56 am #187528had a look at the entry list 90%of the bikes are hondas and ktm s what happened to all the other brands and no kwakas whats the go
September 17, 2010 at 11:46 am #187519Yeah,
The Bergs seem like the only other manufacturer having much of an interest apart from the usual 3 :blink:Maybe we should send PEP on his Kwaka 450, he smoked all contenders at Nundle when he got the chance away from the Sweep position :laugh:
September 17, 2010 at 8:44 pm #187520Great to see 2 ladies in the race…. I hope they kick arse but stay safe. :silly: Oh I wish I had that skill to give it a go. :unsure:
September 18, 2010 at 9:36 am #187521I can only imagine the Penguin getting in and out of his buggy every gate that needs opening and closing. Squeeze out open the gate, in drive through, out close the gate squeeze back in, do the belts up until the next gate and imagine how funny it will be when the gates are close :laugh:
Picture borrowed
TB
September 18, 2010 at 9:47 am #1875621 SMITH KTM
2 ROBERTS Honda CRF450X 00:19
3 GRABHAM KTM 530 EXC 00:23
4 STRANGE Honda CRF450X 00:36
5 SMITH Honda 00:40
40 seconds over the top four through 19km prologue.
TB
September 19, 2010 at 6:45 am #187563Tight prologue course sets the field for Leg 1 of Safari
•Jacob Smith on KTM to start the field
•Mitsubishi Pajeros to start 1 & 2 in the Autos
•Craig Lowndes to start in fourth Auto positionLast year’s second place winner in the Moto division, Todd Smith, will be first on Leg One of the Australasian Safari when the gruelling seven-day event takes off from Southern Cross in the Western Australian eastern wheatbelt tomorrow (Sunday 19 September).
Despite coming off his KTM 530 towards the end of the short 19.34km stage, Todd finished 19 seconds ahead of fellow NSW riders AJ Roberts on a Honda CRF 450, and Ben Grabham on his KTM 530.
Todd said he was happy about leading out tomorrow because it meant he wouldn’t have to deal with as much dust.
“It’s probably a bit harder to be first out – there’s no tracks to follow but that’s also an advantage as I need to focus on my own navigation and will be less tempted to follow someone else’s tracks.
AJ said he was also happy to be following Todd in first position and was looking forward to the week, following his forced retirement last year.
“Todd knows what he’s doing so it’s good to have him in front. Anything can happen over a week of racing but I’m happy with my bike and this is an event where its as much about the natural elements as your skills or the machine,” he said.
Mitsubishi Pajeros were the standout in the auto division with Geoff Olham and John Doble from the Cairns Coconut team finishing first at 20mins 20seconds, and Tony Quinn and Toni Feaver in the VIP Petfoods team second fastest at 20mins 36seconds.
Craig Lowndes and Kees Weel finished the Prologue with the fourth fastest time at 20:52 and a few scratches on the Holden Colorado from the tight twists and turns of the course. Craig was happy with the time, but said the course today was a lot tighter than what he had practiced on.
“We had a few first gear corners so I’m hoping tomorrow the stages will open up and we can really get the car going,” Craig said.
Three-time Safari competitor Paul Smith on a Honda TRX700 was fastest in the Quad category at 20:52.
Tomorrow’s Leg One takes competitors north east to the goldfields town of Leonora with 356.79 competitive kilometres over three stages and a mid-leg service in Menzies. Total distance travelled will be 579km for the leg.
The course is expected provide a range of challenges including overgrown tracks, twists and turns through heavy sand, a crossing of the Trans Australia Railway line, salt lakes and heavy rutts, rough mine site roads and rocky terrain.
Considered one of the world’s great endurance events, the Australasian Safari will travel from Southern Cross in the wheatbelt through to the historic Western Australian goldfields, desert, rugged bush and coastal sand dunes, finishing at Esperance.
Follow the event action at http://www.australasiansafari.com.au
Day 1 results so farStage 1, Benny has dropped the hammer and won it by 1.31 over 111kms is quick
Jacob on the Honda 12 secs faster on stage 2
Special stage 3 hasn’t been completed yet (WA is 3 hrs behind)
Hot gossip is the Penguins buggy failed to complete the first special stage and he is out :ohmy: He was the only vehicle in his class so if thats true he has lost a guaranteed 1st in class :laugh:
TB
September 19, 2010 at 10:48 pm #1875862010 Australian Safari – Day 1 Results
Bikes
1st Ben Grabham – KTM
2nd Rodney Faggotter – Yamaha
3rd Shane Diener – KTM
4th Todd Smith – KTM
5th Jacob Smith- HondaSeptember 20, 2010 at 5:59 am #187621YAMAHA Press release I got this morning.
Yamaha’s Rodney Faggotter finished a tough and dusty day one of the 2010 Australian Safari in second place, around four minutes behind leader Ben Grabham.
After Saturday’s prologue, Rodney started the opening day in sixth place but kept a cool head and used his years of experience to pick his way forward and move into the top three after the opening day.
“Starting sixth meant I was chewing on a bit of dust early in the day, so I made a few passes to get some clean air and then just used my head to get through the day safely. I had no crashes and tried to look after the bike as much as possible as we have a long we to go and anything can happen,” Faggotter said.
“I finished third on the road, but I believe one of the riders ahead of me got a time penalty and that moves me to second, so I feel we are well placed and look forward to day two.”
The Day one route saw the field leave Southern Cross in WA and head north east. Total race distance for the day was over 550Kms and a number of motorcycles were unable to complete the day.
Day two will again see the field charge through the beautiful and remote WA outback with Faggotter hoping for some more open trails and the speed to be on.
“Because I am now second, that means I will take off second tomorrow and dust won’t be an issue. I can have clear track from the get go and just continue to ride myself into contention. As they say, you can’t win it in the first couple of days, but you can lose it from making silly mistakes,” said the experienced campaigner.
Rodney is mounted on a 2010 Yamaha WR450F and feels the bike was perfect for the opening day.
“Some of the sections were pretty tight today and throwing around a big heavy enduro bike can be hard work. The WR loves conditions like that, but is just as capable in the open stuff as well. We have just given it a quick service and once over and it’s ready to go for day two,” he offers.
September 20, 2010 at 10:40 pm #187646Another Yamaha, media release.
For Immediate Release: Tuesday, September 21, 2010.
Yamaha’s Rod Faggotter is well placed after day two of the Australian SafariYamaha’s Rodney Faggotter continues to position himself well after day two of the 2010 Australian Safari.
Rodney current lies in third place on the road and within a few minutes of the lead with five long and grueling days remaining.
Day two was a marathon day for the field with over 480 kilometres covered, of which, 430km was under the stopwatch. There were no easy transport sections and all riders had to be on their game to stay in contention.
In the two long test sections, Faggotter piloted his Yamaha WR450 to fifth in stage one and second in stage two and consolidated his place near the top of the leader board. Rodney finished day two in third place behind Todd Smith and Ben Grabham.
“Today went fairly smoothly other than getting some wire caught up in my back wheel which cost me a bit of time. I was able to make it back up by the check points so no damage was done.”
“The rules on a marathon day also mean limited servicing of the bike, but we were able to drop the oil and change a filter to keep the WR450 running sweetly.”
‘We still have a lot of riding and racing to do but so far things are going according to plan and the top five are pretty tight. Physically I feel good and the bike is in great shape,” Rod concludes.
Day three is another long day with over 400kilometres to be covered as they riders continue to pick their way through the WA outback.
For more information: http://www.australiansafari.com.au
Australian Safari – Day 2 Results
1st Todd Smith- KTM
2nd Ben Grabham- KTM
3rd Rodney Faggotter – Yamaha
4th Matt Fish – KTM
5th Jacob Smith – HondaAustralian Safari – Standings After Day 2.
1st Todd Smith- KTM – 8.46.47
2nd Matt Fish – KTM – 8.47.54
3rd Rod Faggotter – Yamaha – 8.50.37
4th Ben Grabham – KTM – 8.52.00
5th Jacob Smith – Honda – 8.54.50September 21, 2010 at 3:14 am #187668September 21, 2010 at 10:42 pm #187672Another bit of Yamaha spin from their media unit.
Despite getting wire entangled in both wheels, Yamaha’s Rodney Faggotter is on track for a podium finish as the 2010 Australia Safari heads towards the half way stage.
Faggotter pounded out another workmanlike performance on Day three that saw him finish fifth on the day, but more importantly maintain his third place overall for the event.
Starting the day in third place, Rodney charged to the front of the field in the early stages and took the lead on the road. But running alongside a fence line the rear wheel of Rod’s WR450F picked up some wire and wrapped it around the hub of both wheels.
While untangling the wire, his lead also unraveled, but once remounted and in motion, he was able to peg back some of the lost time, charge back into fifth for the day and maintain his top three standing after three days.
“I seem to be getting my fair share of wire wrapped around my wheels,” Faggotter commented at days’ end. I felt pretty good this morning as the trail was very similar to what I ride at home and I was able to push past Grabham and Smith to take the lead, only to stop not long after with the wire.”
“But otherwise, my plan is to remain smooth and fast across all seven days and so far I have managed to do that.”
“The guys are allowed to work on the bike tonight, so we will give it the full going over, but so far the WR450F has handled everything thrown at it. I feel fresh myself and have plenty left for the remaining four days.”
Day three was cut short when several crashes required major medical assistance. Only one of two timed tests were completed today and the field is now at Coolgardie before moving onto Norseman in WA for the next two nights.
For more information on the Australian Safari: http://www.australiansafari.com.au
Australian Safari – Day Three Results
1st Jacob Smith – Honda
2nd Ben Grabham – KTM
3rd Matt Fish – KTM
4th Warren Strange –Honda
4th Rodney Faggotter – YamahaOverall Positions After Day Three
1st Ben Grabham – KTM – 10.59.26
2nd Jacob Smith – Honda – 11.05.08
3rd Rodney Faggotter – Yamaha – 11.05.26
4th Todd Smith – KTM – 11.05 .46
5th Matt Fish – KTM – 11.06.14 -
AuthorPosts
You must be logged in to reply to this topic.