ENDURE AND WIN

First-time offroad competitor V8 Supercar driver Craig Lowndes has proved himself an all-round motorsport champion with a first-place win in the 2010 Australasian Safari which finished on the beach in Esperance, Western Australia.

Lowndes and co-driver Kees Weel finished one hour and 15 minutes ahead of the rest on the final day of competition following a week of strong driving, after steadily increasing their lead gained in Leg Three. This was co-driver Kees Weel’s second Safari win, having won his last event in 1995. “I’m delighted to win my first attempt at Safari. We stayed out of trouble and the beach sand was something I was more familiar with from my practice runs.”

Second-fastest in the autos were Darren Green and Wayne Smith with a 1999 Nissan Patrol. Third finished long-time Dakar and Safari competitors Bruce Garland and co-driver Harry Suzuki in their Isuzu DMAX, whom the last day’s sandy conditions suited well. “It was a fun day and for once we didn’t get any punctures!” Garland said.“The dunes and the beach were a lot nicer than the trees we had the past few days, it was a beautiful spot to finish and the diesel loved the sand.”

 Bathurst’s Ben Grabham (KTM) made his third win after 2007, 2008 when he took out first place the moto division. Grabham was in the lead in all but one leg this week, finishing convincingly yesterday an overall 17 minutes ahead of the next fastest Todd Smith. “After all the hard work, it’s a big relief it’s over not just for me but also for the mechanics and the whole team.” Todd Smith completed a gritty performance placing second despite nursing a shoulder injury sustained on the first day of competition and having his brother Jacob out of the event with a broken ankle. Bike manufacturer KTM was also a winner, with third fastest finisher Matt Fish completing the trio of moto placings.

 Paul Smith was the victor of the quad bikes, having a great run all week. He lead the quad riders from Leg 2 and kept his lead for the remainder of the event. In the true spirit of Safari, Smith towed in his fellow quad competitor Colin Lawson for the last four or five kilometres of the stage. “It was my most memorable day on Safari. I’ve finally won one and we then had to get through the dunes and get Colin out – it was a huge day!”

The Australasian Safari provides an ideal training ground for riders and drivers competing in the world-famous Dakar Rally event. International riders Annie Seel from Sweden and Ze Helio from Brazil both agree that the conditions experienced in the Australasian Safari are comparable with the gruelling terrain and lengths of the Dakar legs. Seel (placed 15th) is competing in Safari for her second year and Helio (placed 18th) for the first time.

Considered one of the world’s great endurance events, the Australasian Safari has travelled from Southern Cross in the wheatbelt through to the historic Western Australian goldfields, desert, rugged bush and coastal sand dunes. Proof of the difficulty of Safari is the number of competitors who manage to reach it to the finish. The event commenced with 112 vehicles on the Prologue Day and only 64 vehicles finished last day, a 40 percent attrition rate.