Australasian Safari: Temps de sauvage dans les fleurs sauvages

24 September 2011: Wild times in the wildflowers
While dazzling to look at for tourists, the carpets of wildflowers in the Western Australian outback proved treacherous for competitors on Leg 1 of Australasian Safari.

Brothers Todd and Jacob Smith finished first and second fastest with two minutes between them, followed by Rod Faggotter and then Ben Grabham, who recovered after a tumble over the handlebars.
Cyril Despres is sitting a respectable sixth fastest despite continuing difficulties with the language of the road books.
“This is quite a different race for me and reading the navigation is like a different language. I was not racing at 100 percent capacity today and it’s also the first day.”

Jacob and Todd had some friendly rivalry keeping each other at pace despite the overgrown tracks, which they both said were treacherous.
Ben Grabham said he was a bit sore but a Panadol at the refuel kept him going.

“Something happened when I was in first gear going through the grass. I wasn’t liking the conditions today, you couldn’t see anything in the long grass,” he said.

Shane Diener finished a respectable seventh after coming off on a corner and getting lost a couple of times in the first stage.
“I sorted out my concentration by the second stage and am being a bit more cautious after breaking both my wrists earlier this year.”

Young English rider Sam Sunderland had another rough day in the Aussie outback, hitting a kangaroo and coming off his bike. He managed to get back on to reach the end of the stage but arrived disoriented and was seen by a medical team and given IV fluid. He hopes to start tomorrow.

Italian rider Manuel Lucchese had wheel damage 108km into the second stage.
In the autos, Steve Riley and John Doble were leading the first stage in their Cairns Coconut Holiday Resort Mitsubishi Pajero, but had major brake issues in the last stage, placing them second behind Craig Lowndes and John Panozzo in the 2003 Holden Colorado, and then Terry and Jody Conner in their 1995 Nissan Patrol.

Steve Riley elaborated: “Our brakes exploded just 20km from the end of the second stage. We had been first out and were leading up until that point but had to stop and fix it up.

“The wildflowers out there were beautiful but dangerous – it was like driving on oil and we did a lot of damage to the car,” Riley said.

Damage was a common theme amongst the cars and the PWR Holden Rally team mechanics will also be putting in a late night with Lowndes and Weel both hitting trees.
Lowndes explained: “We navigated our way into the forestry and had to then turn the car around in the first stage. It was really rocky and rutted and we did a lot of sliding in the wildflower areas.”

Tony Flood and Greg Flood in the Supply Solutions Mitsubishi Pajero did not start Leg 1 due to mechanical issues and have withdrawn from the event. Tony Quinn and Toni Feaver were towed from the first stage.
It was a tough day for the Quads as well. The kinship of the quad riders was apparent when Heath Young towed Neville Yeatman from the first stage. Colin Lawson, finishing fastest for the leg, said he lost a lot of time as he blew a drive belt in the first 70km after he pushed hard to catch the lead rider. Paul Smith did not finish the second stage because of fuel problems.


ENDS