Dakar quad winner to race in Australasian Safari

Five-time Dakar Rally quad winner, Josef Machacek, will compete in this year's Australasian Safari, to be held in the Western Australian outback from August 1-8.

At a spritely 52 years old, the Czech has built an impressive record over the past decade. He won the 1999 Desert Challenge before his first Dakar Rally success in 2000, followed by four more wins in 2001, 2003, 2007 and 2009.

Machacek, an oil company director, won his fifth Dakar Rally by a margin of two hours and 34 minutes - a massive triumph, even in desert racing. Not bad for someone who builds his own bikes and runs his own small team.

Machacek will be short-price favourite in Australia on his Yamaha, despite this being his first tilt at the Australasian Safari.

"Australia is the only continent I haven't visited," Machacek said. "This is my big new challenge - getting to know the people on this continent, the great outdoors, the animals, and your special race.

"The Dakar and long distance racing is my life," the oil company director added.

This year's Australasian Safari begins in Perth with a prologue on Saturday, August 1. The event proper starts the following day.

Auto, motorbike and quad bike competitors then face over 3500km of competition over seven days. The Safari will have overnight stops in Geraldton, Mt Magnet, Leonora and Laverton, before finishing in the gold mining city of Kalgoorlie on Saturday, August 8.

Quads only competed for the first time in 2008, with John Maragozidis the victor, while Ben Grabham was the motorcycle winner.

For more information on the event, click here.