MOTORSPORT: Australasian Safari - Leg Two

The second leg of the Safari continued to hurtle obstacles at competitors, with entrants facing rough and rocky terrain and tight twists and turns throughout their 667 kilometre journey across three stages from Kalbarri to Gascoyne Junction in Western Australia.

Autos
Ruts in the third stage of the leg had upturned a successful run enjoyed by Kees Weel and John Pannozzo in their number 100 Holden Colorado which had barrel rolled as a consequence of the impact. Weel walked away from the crash with negligible injuries.

Cairns Coconut Resort Racing team of Geoff Olholm and Gordon Trigg roared to the front of the pack, clocking a ten minute lead over rivals, with a finishing time of 07:48:43.

Former leaders Dave McShane and Bill Hayes had slipped to second place but have begun to claw their way back to their previous form.

"We broke the drive shaft with 70km to go in the first stage and only had front wheel drive for the rest of the stage," said McShane. "In the second stage we were going too fast, hit a rock, and got a flat tyre.  But the last stage was good and we’re here."

Moto
First leg runner up Todd Smith has won the second leg of the race with a time of 5:00:05 at the helm of his 2013 Honda CRF450X. The winner had eclipsed first leg leader Rod Faggotter’s and his 2013 Yamaha WR450F time by six seconds in the second leg of the safari with a time of 5:00:11. Smith was impressed with the first leg winner’s performance.

"I rode my ass off in the last stage today and only beat Rod by one second," he said. "We made adjustments to my bike overnight to cater for the softer sand which might have slowed me down a bit."

Despite being overtaken by Smith, Faggotter was re-gaining momentum throughout the day.

"There was lots of moisture this morning, making the sand heavy and testing out the bikes.  Bikes and riders were working hard in the first stage. I enjoyed the last stage more."

Third place had been garnered by Matt Fish on his 2014 KTM 500 EXC, who clocked a respectable 5:05:58 and had attributed his position to some navigational error which cost him precious minutes.

Shane Diener finished in fourth position with a time of 5:12:05 on his 2013 Yamaha WR450F and was poised as the quickest Dakar Challenge contenders.

Alister McRae finished the stage in seventh position with a time of 5:29:46 with his 2014 KTM 500 EXC, explaining that the first stage proved tough, with a number of hurdles along the way.

"I stopped to help Warren Strange after he waved me down, and towed him the last 10km of the first stage.  I didn't really enjoy the first stage, it was hard work and hard on the bike, but the last stage was really good."

The rally ace has continued to improve his navigational skills.

Quads
In the quads division of the Safari, John Maragozidis blitzed his nearest competitor’s time by nine minutes on his 2010 MMR Interceptor, but the win wasn’t completely flawless.

"I broke an exhaust bracket and overheated, but otherwise had a good day.  It’s all okay, it’s just the normal stuff Safari dishes out."

Rider Heath Young finished in second position on his 2010 KTM 690 Rally and was pleased with his result.

"I had a good day, I got the navigation scroll working for today. I broke a fuel line in the last stage and had fuel leaking all over my foot. I stopped and replaced the fuel line fitting, made sure it was working and kept going."

Side-By-Sides
The second leg proved troublesome for all side by side entrants, with all competitors forfeiting due to mechanical problems.

Leg 2 Results- Top 10

Auto
Olholm/Trigg   07:48:43
McShane/Hayes   07:58:12
Harrington/Harrington   08:11:12
Purshouse/Mortimer  08:11:32
Herridge/Hill   08:12:51
Travis/Travis 08:19:26
Denham/Topliff   08:31:36
Jerie/Watman   08:39:58
Owen/Cairns  08:48:02
Schofield/Baker  09:00:21

Moto
Todd Smith   05:00:05
Rodney Faggotter   05:00:11
Matt Fish  05:05:58
Shane Diener   05:12:05
Lee Stephens   05:16:02
Vernon Strange   05:19:21
Russell Scoble   05:25:50
Alister McRae   05:29:46
Ivan Erceg   05:31:08
Warren Strange   05:31:11

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