Australasian Safari 2011 – Day Five
Diener’s Safari run ends while Smith brothers cement lead on day five
Overall Standings – After Day 5
1st Todd Smith – 21.06:07 (Honda)
2nd Jacob Smith – 21.18:21 (Honda)
3rd Rod Faggotter – 21.51:36 (Yamaha)
4th Cyril Despres – 22.17:25 (KTM)
5th Damien Grabham – 23.09:45 (Husaberg)
6th Ben Williams – 23.47:42 (Honda)
7th David Schwarz – 23.54:18 (Husaberg)
8th Russell Scoble – 24.33:52 (Honda)
9th David Geeves – 24.50:07 (Honda)
10th William Coole – 24.53:42 (Husaberg)
– GHR Honda Report
Leg 5 between Laverton and Leonora was a fateful day for many more of the moto competitors. It was the first marathon leg of the Safari, where no team servicing is permitted and the riders must be self sufficient to solve mechanical problems. Yamaha mounted Shane Diener led out of the gate this morning for the 86.08km road section to the SS10 Minigwal stage, followed by GHR riders Jacob and Todd Smith. Through the 215.35km stage held on fast station tracks Diener set impressive pace at the front, and gained time on the Condobolin brothers.
However, following the mid-leg refuel, Diener was rendered immobile by mechanical issues during the 164.24km SS11 Yundamindra stage. This returned the Condobolin brothers to the top two positions overall and Yamaha rider Rod Faggotter moved into third. Knowing that their competition was faltering, both riders rode the rest of the day with self preservation first and foremost on their minds. There were some who came to grief and the helicopters were kept busy with medical evacuations. Sadly, the Safari is over for South African, Glen Grundy who crashed in ruts and fractured his clavicle. The remaining 6 GHR bikes will all start tomorrow after end of day servicing.
Jacob Smith: “Shane was definitely on a run today through that first section! I was going as hard as I dared, but he was too quick to catch and completely deserved to win that one. Later when I saw he’d had problems and stopped I backed right off.
Todd Smith: “The first selective this morning was a rerun of a stage from 2009 I think, and it was just as hard as last time. The second stage had plenty to catch you out and once I saw Shane was out I definitely slowed down and rode for a secure finish rather than a fast one.
– Yamaha Report
Day five of the 2011 Australian Safari and the event lived up to its billing as the toughest race in the country with Yamaha’s Shane Diener experiencing the highs and lows of adventure rallye racing while Rod Faggotter continued on his merry way across the WA outback.
Late on day three, Diener decided to put on a charge and claw his way up the leader board. That charge took him to four stage wins in a row, including the opening stage this morning, and to second place overall but it all went pear – shaped in the afternoon session.
Diener had narrowed the gap between himself and the leader to under 10mins and was honing in on the 1st place. But during the afternoon stage, Diener experienced mechanical issues in the remote WA countryside and was unable to finish the stage meaning any chance of an overall victory has gone out the window.
The team was yet to inspect the bike but plan on getting it back up and running for Diener to continue on in the event, all be it with the maximum penalty and no chance of an overall win. Diener, while devastated by the incident, has shifted focus and is now out to win as many stages on the run home in the final few days.
“I’m not sure what happened out there. Everything was running great and I was making up time at every check point but something has happened and the guys are trying to get to the bottom of it now,” Diener explains.
“With the overall win now out of the equation, the only thing I can go for is stage wins and get as many of those as I possibly can.”
“I’m disappointed but that’s the way it goes sometimes and I’m sure we will fight on until the end.”
At the other end of the scale, it was an uneventful day for Rod Faggotter. Still feeling the effects on a busted bone in his hand, Faggotter is in conservative mode and is solely focused on bring his batted hand home safely and to nail down a podium position.
Rod finished eighth in the morning stage and logged another consistent sixth in the afternoon session to be in a seemly safe third place, 26 minutes ahead of the fourth placed rider.
“Nothing to report here,” Faggotter jokes. “I’m just putting in the hours and getting the job done although it is frustrating not being able to race at full speed.”
“My aim now is to lock down a podium position for myself and the team so I am focused on getting through safely and making no silly mistakes.”
Day six will see competitors race in two stages totally just over 340kilometres. Diener will be out to restore pride while Faggotter will keep his eye firmly locked on the podium.