Safari turned on its head
A dramatic day five, with Lowndes rolling his Holden Colorado and Shane Diener's Yamaha WR450F forced out of play with mechanical problemsV8 Supercar legend Craig Lowndes has lost his lead in the 2011 Australasian Safari after tipping his Holden Colorado this morning, and was towed to the finish of the opening 215km stage by another competitor.
At the time, Lowndes and navigator John Panozzo held a convincing 20-minute lead over Steve Riley/John Doble (Mitsubishi Pajero) in the overall standings, but that has now evaporated and reports from the field indicate they have now got the vehicle back on four wheels and are working to see if they can continue on into this afernoon's second 164km stage.
Today is a Marathon Day, which means that no vehicle servicing is allowed by support crews. Any repairs to vehicles must be done by the competitors themselves with the tools they carry with them. This will be a huge test for Lowndes and Panozzo, but both have solid mechanical knowledge.
Major penalties are allocated if competitors receive assistance from support crew.
Meanwhile, the current form rider in moto, South Aussie Shane Diener (Yamaha WR450F), has been forced out of today’s second stage with mechanical problems – and with it any chance of winning the Safari as a rookie.
Earlier, Diener had won today’s opening stage ahead of Safari leader Todd Smith (Honda CRF450X) and Jacob Smith (CRF450X).
More information will be provided on the day’s results as later in the day.
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