MOTORSPORT: Australasian Safari Leg Three

It was the two-wheeled warriors that did it especially tough on Leg Three of the Australasian Safari in Western Australia yesterday (Sept 23). While the auto leaders made it through relatively unscathed, the motorcycle field was not so lucky as the event tackled a gruelling 432km day in the state’s Gascoyne region.

The most remote section of Australia’s toughest off-road motorsport event, Leg Three was also a challenging day for Safari’s medical team. The only injuries reported to the medical team were from the motorcycle field, including experienced Safari competitor Warren Strange, who was airlifted by Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) to Perth for observation after he crashed his bike early in the first stage. The RFDS was on site within three hours and Strange is in a serious but stable condition.

Autos
It was a less dramatic day for the autos. Geoff Olholm and Gordon Trigg (Toyota HiLux) held and built their lead, while Dave McShane (Toyota HiLux) recovered well after a nightmare Leg Two. The Subaru Forester pairing of Rob Herridge and Sam Hill have moved into third fastest overall.

Despite having two punctures, Olholm said they had a good day.

“One puncture was on the first stage and the other on the second stage – it blew the tyre apart when we hit a hidden rock. We had a good clean run to the finish. The long stages are more mentally tiring than physically tiring,” he said.

McShane was happy to survive the day.

“I would’ve liked to have made up some time on Geoff but it didn't happen. We also got punctures in both stages. Navigation was difficult in the second stage. It was all about survival for the car so we took it a bit easier.”

Faggotter said he was happy to be back in the lead.

“I really pushed it along today trying to keep the ride smooth. I had no navigation errors and my only issue was windburn.”

Smith crashed in the second stage of the day.

“I damaged my front wheel, map reader and handlebars 130km in [into the second stage]. It also popped the fuel cap and I lost fuel when I was riding, so for 50km I had to ride at quarter throttle.”

Despite requiring stitches, Matt Fish was in good spirits and finished second in the second stage and sits in third outright.

“I tipped the bike over, and the ‘safety’ goggles cut my forehead. The terrain was very challenging and unforgiving today but I’m happy.”

Yamaha’s Shane Diener had a strong day, finishing in outright fourth and continues to hold the Dakar Challenge lead.

“I had to stop in the first stage to fix my wheel and lost about four minutes. I overshot a few turns and missed a corner but didn't have any other navigation errors. Today’s long second stage was really challenging to push through and do that distance without a break.”

Quads
In the quads, MMR pilot John Maragozidis holds a scant three-minute lead on KTM-mounted Heath Young.

Maragozidis had navigation issues and repairs along the way.

“I got lost twice today [in the second stage] and lost a lot of time. I destroyed a set of brake disks and pads, but apart from that had a great day.”

Leg 3 overall results – Top 10

Auto
Olholm/Trigg (Toyota) 09:25:19
McShane/Hayes (Toyota)   09:35:31
Harrington/Harrington (Nissan)  09:51:18
Purshouse/Mortimer (Mitsubishi) 09:54:37
Herridge/Hill (Subaru)  09:58:24
Travis/Travis (Isuzu)  10:05:34
Walkden/Sheldrick (Mitsubishi)  10:15:45
Denham/Topliff (Mitsubishi)  10:21:29
Jerie/Watman (Isuzu)  10:24:52
Owen/Cairns (Nissan) 10:37:18

Moto
Rodney Faggotter (Yamaha)  11:22:00
Todd Smith (Honda)  11:30:49
Matt Fish (KTM)  11:43.17
Shane Diener (Yamaha)  11:56:55
Lee Stephens (KTM)  12:20:23
Alister McRae (KTM)  12:22:24
Russell Scoble (Honda) 12:37:17
Ryan Ingram (KTM)  13:02:34
Troy O’Connor (KTM)  13:17:09
Ivan Erceg (Honda)  13:29:14

Australasian Safari 2013

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