Australian Safari day two: Todd Smith extends lead

KTM factory rider Todd Smith has increased his lead in the Australian Safari after day two, while two-time defending champion Ben Grabham (KTM) may have lost all chance of victory after being forced to ride on his rim for an extended period after a puncture.

Smith has a solid one minute, 28-second (1:28) over his sibling, Jacob Smith (Honda), with AJ Roberts (Honda) a further 13 seconds back in third.

Today’s two special stages took in 380km, with the safari caravan travelling from Geraldton on the coast to the inland town of Mt Magnet. Both stages served up a rich variety of terrain, including quick sand around the edge of a lake.

Todd Smith again showed impeccable form, although he knows there is still a lot of work to be done.

“I’m not feeling too bad - it’s been a good day,” Todd said. “It was tough on the first stage today with water and puddles because it was hard to see the track.

“It’s also hard when you’re in a leading position because you’re the first through and the others follow you. I lost some time on the second stage because my stand broke, but overall it was a good. My plan is to keep surviving, be consistent and get to the end.”

Roberts, 26, is in with a big chance of causing an upset victory on an event that he hasn’t contested for nine years.

“It’s the first time I’ve competed in the safari since 2000 when I was a 17 year old, so I’m still absorbing it all,” Roberts said.  “I had a good run on the second stage, but I’m trying not to get too crazy. It can get scary if you are going at an incredible pace.

“I’m just enjoying myself, having good fun and learning lots as I go along. It’s great being in the same team as Jacob Smith as he’s helping me out a lot.”

Meanwhile, disaster struck Ben Grabham on the massive 244km when he punctured a tyre.

“I broke a spoke, which is normally a pretty minor problem, but it can cause you big problems when you’re out in the desert,” Grabham said. “The spoke then punctured the tyre and I was forced to take it off and ride on the rim until the end of the stage. I fixed that and just had to get on with in the second stage.

“These things are typical of the Safari -- it’s not the end of the world and I’ll push on.”

Undeterred, Grabham then took over a minute off his rivals on the next stage as he set about getting his title defence back on track.

Matthew Fish (KTM) is in fourth spot from Damien Grabham (KTM).

Paul Smith (Can-Am) stretched his lead in the quads class.

Day three of the Australasian Safari will be the toughest so far, with four stages between Mt Magnet and Leonora of 122, 173, 64 and 137km durations.

The first crews will leave Mt Magnet at around 6.00am, and are not expected into Leonora until 3.30pm.

QUADS
1. Paul Smith (VIC), Can-Am 6:09.14s
2. Heath Young (WA), KTM +6:28
3. Josef Machacek (CZ), Yamaha +9:34