There’s no room to relax in final leg of Australasian Safari
Date: 30-Sep-2011
The mood was pensive in the Australasian Safari camp this morning before the final leg of the race from Leonora to Kalgoorlie, and despite some strong lead times, the fastest competitors are not relaxing.With two hours on his nearest rivals, Auto driver Steve Riley was still far from relaxed saying there was still the chance that they could lose their number one position.
“Anything can happen in this race. We’ll try to take it easy today to avoid damaging the car.
“If we win, it’s a win for our entire Cairns Coconut Resort Racing team who have worked tirelessly to firstly build the car and then keep it going over the seven days of the event,” he said.
There’s still the chance Lowndes can make it to the podium with 55 minutes behind current third place holders West Australian team Adrian Dilallo Rob Masi.
Dilallo, who is driving a production-class vehicle, said yesterday they had to tiptoe through the terrain to get the car through the rough course in Leg 6.
“But I wish we had another week of Safari – that would be a real test of man, machine and team,” he said.
Colin Lawson in the Quads was first out of the starting blocks earlier in the week but had bad luck with mechanical failure costing him the lead to John Maragozidis.
“I’ve had issues and the time penalty has hurt. I’m four hours behind now, unless something happens to John tomorrow, there’s no chance of winning – but then again, this is Safari so you just never know what could happen.
Todd Smith in the motos retains an 18 minute lead over brother Jacob and more than an hour ahead of third fastest rider Rod Faggotter.
“There’s no point in pushing now. All I have to do is look after the bike and see it home,” he said.
Competitors will finish their Australasian Safari adventure at the new Kalgoorlie Golf Course this afternoon with the final section and a podium finish. For details visit www.australasiansafari.com.au
