2010 Australian Safari starts today

Just watching the you tube links and noticed Fifi box broke her wrist while reporting on the Safari,got her hand caught in the back wheel of the bike she was attempting to ride.ouch. :dry:

I see the front runners must have taken some wrong turns or got lost…..because now Matt Fish on his KTM is over half an hour in front of Ben Grabham and nearly an hour in front of Smith and Faggotter after the midddle stage for today.

This info is provisional….penalties and the final stage results could change all this….so tomorrow should reveal a whole new order….very interesting.

Just goes to show……read your mapping, back yourself and don’t just follow!

Crash

PS. GO THE XR’s…still going strong!!!!

twobanger wrote:

You must be watching old links. That happened last year unless she has done it again, she a is blond after all.

Another Yamaha press release.

Controversy surrounded the top four riders on Day four of the Australian Safari. Debate raged well into the tonight leaving results and placings to be confirmed by race organisers with provisional results only provided at this stage.

Jacob Smith came down heavily, sustaining serious injuries on a remote section of trail. Ben Grabham, Rod Faggotter and Todd Smith all stopped to assist the fallen rider and radio for help while Matt Fish headed for the nearest check point to notify officials.

Grabham, Faggotter and Smith all spent nearly an hour with the downed Jacob Smith before rejoining the event in what was a huge show of respect and sportsmanship for their fellow competitor.

The issues then surfaced regarding the time of the four competitors of the section and also their starting order for the following sections for the remainder of the day.

“The four of us got together and approached officials about getting the same average time for the section and also reinstate the starting order as it was for the start of the day,” Faggotter said from his base in Norseman.

“Jacob wasn’t in a good way when we got to him and no-one would ride off and leave a mate out there without assistance. All of us felt it was the right thing to do and no one was trying to gain an advantage. The top four are nearly 30 minutes ahead of the fifth place rider and every rider we spoke with was happy with our solution,” Faggotter finishes.

According to the latest official information from event organizers, the situation is currently under review. The time lists on http://www.australiansafari.com.au have implemented the compassionate time correction on a provisional basis to keep the event rolling smoothly and a further decision is to be made.

Day five will see competitors start in the same order as they finished the opening time section on Day four.

Australian Safari Day 4 Results- Provisional
1st Ben Grabham – KTM
2nd Rod Faggotter- Yamaha
3rd Todd Smith – KTM
4th Matt Fish – KTM
5th David Schwartz – Husaberg

Australian Safari Results- Overall Standings After Day 4 – Provisional
1st Ben Grabham – 15.01.05
2nd Rod Faggotter – 15.09.56
3rd Todd Smith – 15.10.36
4th Matt Fish – 15.12.56
5th David Schwartz – 16.56.27

todays update from Yamaha.
For Immediate Release: Friday, September 24, 2010.

Day five was a day to forget for Yamaha’s Rod Faggotter finishing with a suspected broken handRod Faggotter’s Australian Safari campaign for 2010 hangs by a thread after a tough and challenging day for the front running Yamaha rider.

Rod completed the day with a suspected broken hand and is weighing up his options overnight before making a decision on if he is able to continue for the final two days.

Day five didn’t start well for the Queenslander when he had map reader problems and then crashed in the opening stage. He lost valuable time to the leaders totaling 16 minutes in that stage alone. Then frustration got the better of Faggotter as he was desperate to make up time and he collided with a tree in the afternoon stage that left him with dislocated fingers and a very swollen hand. He dropped another 17 minutes in the afternoon session.

He fought on bravely and finished the last 130kms of the stage before heading directly to the medical ward for an X- Ray.

To Rodney’s credit, he still finished third for the day and sits in third place overall in the Safari despite his day five dramas and shows what a cracking pace he and the front runners have been setting since the event started last Saturday.

“I am a bit gutted right now. I had done all the hard work in the opening days to put myself in a really good position for the final few days and felt that I could come home strongly. Today was just a terrible day for me, but that’s what makes this event so hard. You always have to stay focused and one mistake can cost you. Unfortunately, I made the mistake today.”

“ I’m having my hand checked out now and will sleep on it regarding trying to ride tomorrow. It’s not like a motocross race where you are close to help or your car, I can either do it or I can’t, so I will see how it feels in the morning,” said a dejected Faggotter.

Australian Safari- Day Five Results
1st Ben Grabham – KTM
2nd Todd Smith – KTM
3rd Rodney Faggotter – Yamaha
4th Matt Fish – KTM
5th David Schwarz – Husaberg

Australian Safari – Overall Standings After Day five
1st Ben Grabham -20.28.54
2nd Todd Smith – 20.40.17
3rd Rodney Faggotter – 21.12.27
4th Matt Fish – 21.19.59
5th David Schwarz – 23.07.06

white rocket wrote:

Rocket Rocket Rocket. :S

When your 530 is dead and buried, our XR’s will still be on their original rings, still chugging away.

just had a look at some results see a xr is in 9th place(not sure how correct they are )with 530 s making up the top three grabham than smith than fish