Leg one: Smith and Lowndes lead

Honda rider Todd Smith and Holden’s Craig Lowndes have burst out of the blocks in the opening leg of the 2011 Australasian Safari, which saw competitors engaged in 415.56km of competitive stages between Geraldton and Mount Magnet.

Smith (CRF450X) was second and first in the two stages, which was enough for him to dismount in Mount Magnet a three-minute, 10-second (3:10) leader over his sibling and teammate Jacob.

Yamaha’s Rod Faggotter (Yamaha WR450F), the stage one winner, is third overall ahead of defending champion Ben Grabham (KTM 450SXF), Victorian Mathew Fish (KTM 505SXF), three-time Dakar champion Cyril Despres (KTM 450RR) and Damien Grabham (Husaberg FE570). The top seven are separated by just over 10 minutes.

Grabham, who said he “couldn’t see anything in the long grass”, recovered from a nasty tumble to keep himself in the mix, while Despres is still coming to grips with the language of the road books.

“This is quite a different race for me and reading the navigation is like a different language. I was not racing at 100 percent capacity today and it’s also the first day,” said the Frenchman.

Young English rider Sam Sunderland (FE570) had another rough day in the Aussie outback, hitting a kangaroo and coming off his bike. He then gritted his teeth to reach the end of the second stage but arrived disoriented and was seen by a medical team and given IV fluid. He hopes to start leg two today.

Italian rider Manuel Lucchese (FE570) and Ben Young (FE570) both retired from stage two, and with associated penalties are already well down the pecking order.

In the auto division, the pairing of Craig Lowndes/John Panozzo (Holden Colorado) hold nearly a seven-minute lead over Steve Riles/John Doble (Mitsubishi Pajero), with Terry Conner/Jodi Conner (Mitsubishi GQ) well back in third.

Compared to their two-wheeled compatriots, it was a dramatic day for the autos, with Riley/Doble being hit with major brake issues in the second stage, while Paul Weel/Kees Weel (Colorado) – another fancied team -- also limped through the same stage.

“Our brakes exploded just 20km from the end of the second stage. We had been first out and were leading up until that point but had to stop and fix it up,” said Riley. “The wildflowers out there were beautiful but dangerous – it was like driving on oil and we did a lot of damage to the car.”

Damage was a common theme among the autos, with Lowndes and Weel both hitting trees.

“We navigated our way into the forestry and had to then turn the car around in the first stage,” said Lowndes. “It was really rocky and rutted and we did a lot of sliding in the wildflower areas.”

Tony Flood/Greg Flood (Pajero) did not start leg one due to mechanical issues and have withdrawn from the event. Tony Quinn and Toni Feaver were towed from the first stage.

It was a tough day for the Quads as well. The kinship of the quad riders was apparent when Heath Young (KTM XC Rallye) towed Neville Yeatman (Can-Am Outlander) from the first stage.

Colin Lawson (Can-Am Renegade) is already a 16-minute leader over Adrian Hersmen (Can-Am), with John Maragozidis (MMR Interceptor) in third.

Prologue winner Paul Smith (Honda TRX700XX) did not finish the second stage and is now sixth overall.

Leg two will take competitors from Mt Magnet to Sandstone, with 326.71km of competitive stages which include rocky tracks, flowing roads, tight sections and plenty of fence line work.

The Safari has already lived up to its reputation as Australia’s toughest motorsport event, with attrition already playing its part. Here’s the damage:

Auto

Moto

Quads