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.

Yamaha WR450F-mounted Rod Faggotter regained his moto lead on Leg Three, while Honda’s Todd Smith moved to second place after crashing. KTM rider Matt Fish is putting in a strong performance and is sitting third overall.

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," explained Smith.

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," Fish said.

Yamaha's Shane Diener had a strong day too, 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," said the exhausted Diener.

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.

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," he said.

Check out Australasiansafari.com.au for more results.

2013 Australasian Safari Leg 1 results, top 10 (moto)
1. Rodney Faggotter (Yamaha)  11:22:00
2. Todd Smith (Honda)  11:30:49
3. Matt Fish (KTM)  11:43.17
4. Shane Diener (Yamaha)  11:56:55
5. Lee Stephens (KTM)  12:20:23
6. Alister McRae (KTM)  12:22:24
7. Russell Scoble (Honda) 12:37:17
8. Ryan Ingram (KTM)  13:02:34
9. Troy O’Connor (KTM)  13:17:09
10. Ivan Erceg (Honda)  13:29:14