Faggotter makes it back-to-back Condos

Off-road ace Rod Faggotter has claimed victory for the second year running at the prestigious 2011 Condobolin 750 endurance event held over the Easter weekend.

Faggotter (pictured) overcame a slow start on his Yamaha WR450F in the prologue to eventually claim the spoils in the 800km event by nearly five minutes ahead of Damien Grabham (Husaberg), with Victorian Matt Fish (KTM) third.

Faggotter, in his first competitive ride back after sustaining a serious wrist injury in last year’s Australasian Safari, did all the damage in the Condo on day one, which allowed him the luxury of adopting a more cautious approach on the run home.

“Things weren’t looking too flash during the prologue on Friday. I wasn’t riding that well and to come in 28th means there is plenty of traffic ahead of me, but the positive was that there was just over a minute separating the fastest 30 riders,” said Faggotter.

“On Saturday I got stuck into it and wanted to climb up the field as much as possible to give myself and chance at winning the event. I never expected to finish the day as the leader and with such a handy break over second place.

“With a five-minute gap, there was no point in pushing it, so I rode to a pace that was safe and maintained my position. I didn’t ride that well on Sunday, but fortunately I didn’t have to and I was lucky enough to hold my position and win the Condo 750 for the second time.

Day two was won by Jacob Smith, but the Honda rider was never a threat for outright honours after a disastrous day one.

Jacob was 10th overall while his team-mate and sibling, Todd Smith, did not finish the event.

All the top Condo riders will now turn their attention to the Finke Desert race in five weeks’ time before moving onto a gruelling two-day event in Hattah and then the 2011 Australasian Safari.