2009 Australasian Safari

[Rally Angel]

Well, for something different, Ethan and I will be heading off and participating in the 2009 Australasian Safari which is the 1st - 8th August. We are Service/Support Crew in the Kiwi KTM Team for something a bit different (playing with motorbikes instead of cars).

The below link is all about the "build up" of the bike John (JayBo1) will be riding. John is who we will predominately be keeping an eye on over the week but I think there are 4 or 5 riders in the team now (including a rogue Yamaha rider ).

http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=441178
We are hoping our wireless internet will work while we are out and about so will be putting up event reports and photos when we can.

We are really looking forward to this!

Below is a link to our photobucket album with Safari pictures. We will be updating it as much as we can.

2009 Australasian Safari pictures by TPRTEL - Photobucket

[lisalex]

Awesome bro. /subscribes

I read the whole thread, looks like a well built bike. You guys should have a ball.

Alex.

[macksrallye]

Hey lisi, do you know in what order the prologue is going to run. I've got to come up to perth on saturday for a targa west meeting & i read somewhere that it starts at 9am in mundaring & was thinking about having a look.

[Pickstock Rally Team]

Alex, there is 3 brand new 530's including Bro1, a 690exc/r and a lone Yamaha 450 all part of Kiwi Safari team.

Stephen, the only details we know is that its at Mundaring somewhere, and we wont actually find out more details to sometime friday night at the drivers briefing. As soon as we no, ill try and post something up for ya.

[Rally Angel]

I have edited post # 1 and included a link to our Photobucket album with the pictures from the Safari. We will update the album when we can as we go along.

Scrutineering and doco was completed today without a hitch. Tomorrow night is "drivers briefing" and the welcome dinner. That's when Safari really begins!

[Haggers]

MEDIA RELEASE

AUSTRALIAN SAFARI– CAN RILEY AND DOBLE MAKE IT TWO IN A ROW?

After last year’s nail biting outright victory, Steve Riley and John Doble are trying to make it two in row this year in the Australian Safari in their 500 hp Mitsubishi Pajero sponsored by Cairns Coconut Holiday Resort.

“We got through last year by the skin of our teeth thanks to some overheating issues caused by grass clogging the cooling system. We used more Mobil oil than some US states and I was grateful for the long time support of Evans Petroleum in Gippsland. This year is probably even more challenging given the format of event and the quality of the field.
We’re up against the likes of Paul and Kees Weel in John Hederics’ car and Andy and Danny Brown are always a threat in their turbo Holden Frontera. Then you have Bruce Garland and Harry Suzuki fresh from their outstanding Dakar result. It’s not going to be easy but we tested the car out in the recent Condo 750 and we came in 3rd without any mechanical problems” said Steve.

The ceremonial start is due to take place in Russell Square, Northbridge, Perth Saturday 1 August and the anticipated record field will then face a challenging 3,600 competitive kilometres over seven days through the unforgiving terrain of outback Western Australia.

With the new course set to test even the most hardened competitors of the sport, just getting to the finish line in the mining town of Kalgoorlie on Saturday August 8 will be a significant achievement. This year there will be three “marathon” days where service will be restricted notwithstanding that the cars may have travelled many hundreds of competitive stage kilometres.

“The format will punish teams who go for broke and hope to rebuild overnight” said Steve.

Demonstrating the close knit nature of Safari competition, Steve has teamed up with a former competitor from his days on the bikes in the Safari. Geoff Olholm and Hadyn Redfern who will be driving a second Cairns Coconut Holiday Resort Mitsubishi Pajero.

“Geoff and I competed on the bikes and he was keen to have a go on four wheels so he asked me for advice about building a car that would do the business. I always find two coconuts are better than one” said Steve

This year the service team comprises long time mechanic Chris Stone who is assisted by Troy McAinch and Paul Borg. Welding specialist Lawrence Richmond and Motec specialist Matt Turnbull round out the team. Power from the 500 hp Pajero is delivered via a 6 speed Holinger box and it is stopped by a proven braking package developed by Kevin Gavin at Specialised Brake & Clutch.

For more details contact:
Peter Haggstrom

0405 252 186 (mobile)



Peter Whitten has done a story on rallysport mag:

RallySport Magazine - Riley favourite to defend Safari crown

Bruce Garland will be a real chance given his sensational result in the Dakar. Paul Weel's car is basically a detuned V8 supercar.


Steve would not known to most people on this forum as ghis is from Victoria. John Doble is well known as co-driver for the likes of Jeff David, Kev Gavin, Mike Batten and even me.

Steve got an amazing 3rd outright in the Race to the Sky in NZ a few years back in his twin Hyabusa engined "billycart" literally specced out on the floor of he farm garage with the help of Chris Stone who is well known in Victorian rallying circles. He was beaten by Monster Tajima and Rod Millen in 1000 hp Pikes Peak spec cars. In keeping with the agricultural nature of Steve's upbringing it has constant chain and sprocket 4WD. I have in-car from Race to the Sky and the understeer and snap oversteer have to be seen to believe (ther are big drop offs like Pikes Peak) . The car has run mt Panorama esses uphill against the specialist formula "1" cars brought out from the UK and I think he got top 5 or so ( have to check the records). Video shows massive snap oversteer through the esses.

Some pics attached

[lisalex]

I demand to see this in-car video from race to the sky.

[Haggers]

Originally Posted by lisalex

I demand to see this in-car video from race to the sky.

Lisi

I will not deprive you of quality in-car. I will have the DVD among all my quality rally porn. Got a bit on right now but I will find it and post it on Home

In the meantime have a squizz at this and imagine it on dirt with BIG drop offs



Haggers

[Rally Angel]

More photos have been uploaded onto photobucket. They are from the Bivouac yesterday, a couple of last nights drivers briefing and some of the Prologue from today. We only got the bikes and some quads. Apparently the "ceremonial start" was a let down tonight. We stayed back to set up camp and did not go.

[Haggers]

MEDIA RELEASE

AUSTRALASIAN SAFARI 2009 - THE REAL ACTION BEGINS TOMORROW FOR RILEY & DOBLE

Steve Riley and John Doble in the Cairns Coconut Holiday Resort Mitsubishi Pajero finished the Prologue today in 6th which places them 6th on the road tomorrow for the real action. The Prologue is used to set the road positions for Day 1 of the event.

The Prologue stage of about 16 km was held in the Mundaring forest, north-east of Perth today, and used some of the roads made famous by the World Rally Championship round previously held in WA. It included a range of roads, from fast and flowing, to tight and narrow, which saw the average speed for the fastest driver, Bruce Garland in his Isuzu D-Max turbo diesel, reach only 79 kph.

“We took a wrong turn in the middle of the stage but didn’t lose a lot of time. The roads were your skatey ball bearing roads that demand your attention and there were some water splashes to test your electrics. We got a minor hole in a driveshaft boot but that has been fixed. It all went well and we’re happy with the road position tomorrow. The Fat Lady’s got a few more tunes to sing yet” said Steve.

The sister Cairns Coconut Holiday Resort car driven by Geoff Olholm and Haydn Redfern came 5th in the Prologue which could prove distracting for other teams given the LOUD shirts both teams are wearing (see picture attached). Both cars sport half a coconut strategically placed on the rear of the roof to provide additional down force for those long 6th gear runs along fence lines !

Matt Turnbull has analysed the MOTEC data and everything is running as expected.

Tomorrow the teams drive on the highway to Geraldton and then do two stages totalling about 110 km, which is not much by Safari standards. The marathon stages come later in the event.

The Australasian Safari covers about 3600km of the WA outback from Perth to Kalgoorlie, finishing in the gold mining city next Saturday, August 8.

Riley’s service team comprises long time mechanic Chris Stone who is assisted by Troy McAinch and Paul Borg. Welding specialist Lawrence Richmond and Motec specialist Matt Turnbull round out the team. Power from the 500 hp Pajero is delivered via a 6 speed Holinger box and it is stopped by a proven braking package developed by Kevin Gavin at Specialised Brake & Clutch.

Live results and a Twitter link can be accessed here: AUSTRALASIAN SAFARI

For more details contact:
Peter Haggstrom

0405 252 186 (mobile)


01 August 2009

[Haggers]

SATURDAY, AUGUST 1, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

GARLAND TAKES VICTORY IN SAFARI PROLOGUE

Australian Dakar star Bruce Garland has sounded a warning to his rivals by posting the quickest time in the Prologue to decide starting order for the 2009 Australasian Safari.

Garland and co-driver Harry Suzuki and their Isuzu D-MAX (diesel) ute crossed the finish line of the 15.84km stage four seconds ahead of Kerry Turley and Naomi Tillett in a Nissan GQ Patrol with former V8 Supercar driver Paul Weel and his father Kees – a former Safari winner – a further 12 seconds behind in their Holden Colorado.

The Prologue stage was held in the Mundaring forest, north-east of Perth, the capital of Western Australia, and used some of the roads made famous by the World Rally Championship round previously held in WA. It included a range of roads, from fast and flowing, to tight and narrow, keeping all drivers and riders [the event is also open to bikes and quads] on their toes.
Garland and Suzuki will start first car on the road when the event kicks off in earnest tomorrow. It covers more than 3500km of the WA outback from Perth to Kalgoorlie, finishing in the gold mining city next Saturday, August 8.

“There’s a lot of guys driving Generation 3 V8s who are shaking their heads,” laughs Garland, who has won the Safari five times in a petrol vehicle. He hopes to be the first driver to win it in a diesel.

“They’re wondering what happened, so I hope we can keep them wondering all week! We’ll be first on the road tomorrow and while that is not always the best place to be, we’ll try to use it to our advantage.

“At this stage I have no idea what the conditions will be like out there, aside from the fact we can probably expect plenty of sand and rocks. They have changed the course a bit from last year, and they’re not telling us much, so we’ll just go out and drive it as we see it.”

Garland and Suzuki finished 11th outright and first diesel ute home in the legendary Dakar Rally in January this year and are using the Safari as part of their preparations for the 2010 event.

They finished third in last year’s Safari with the same vehicle they are using this year, which was the prototype for their Dakar car. The vehicle has been up-specced to match the Dakar vehicle, and has also had some further improvements in terms of suspension and diesel engine technology.

Before these latest improvements, the D-MAX – hand-built in Garland’s Sydney workshop – was putting out around 160kW of power which was an increase of 33 per cent on the standard vehicle, and 500Nm of torque (@2000rpm; up 39 per cent), but Garland says it now has more pulling power and top-end speed. However, he’s not predicting victory just yet.

“The Safari is a hard race and lots of things can happen. You can be prepared to within an inch of your life and things can still go wrong, so we can just hope luck goes our way. It’s all in the lap of the race gods now!

“There are some very good cars and very good drivers in the event. I would see about 10 of them as serious rivals including Paul (Weel), Des (Harrington, fourth in the Prologue) and Steve Riley (last year’s winner), and they’re all in petrol vehicles.

“We have a hard job ahead of us, but I’m pretty confident in this car. We’ll see where we are this time next week.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

For more information on the team, please contact Liz Swanton: lizswanton@hotkey.net.au; 0417 232 643.


For further information on the event, visit the Australasian Safari website at: AUSTRALASIAN SAFARI

*** NOTE: PHOTOS WILL FOLLOW WHEN AVAILABLE. THEY ARE BEING PROVIDED BY THE EVENT. PHOTO CREDIT IS AUSTRALASIAN SAFARI/OFFROAD IMAGES.

[Haggers]

AUSTRALASIAN SAFARI 2009 - RILEY & DOBLE IN 3RD PLACE AFTER DAY 1


Steve Riley and John Doble in the Cairns Coconut Holiday Resort Mitsubishi Pajero finished the first day of the event in a solid 3rd place (after starting in 6th) behind Des and Richard Harrington (Nissan Patrol) in 1st and Alan Parker and Alan McGilvray (Nissan Patrol) who came from s surprising 14th on the road to snatch 2nd place.

Today gave the teams a bit of a taste for what is in store later on in the week. On the way to Geraldton they followed coastal tracks which were covered in deep sand and this proved hard on the car but John Doble’s navigation was spot on and no time was lost getting lost.

“We were often hitting the rev limiter in 4th gear in that sand but were only doing about 80 kph and when you are putting out 500hp that gives some idea of the stress on the car. We were getting about 1.5 km per litre of the Mobil 98 supplied by the guys at Evans Petroleum of Gippsland in those conditions according to the data logging” said Steve


The sister Cairns Coconut Holiday Resort Mitsubishi Pajero driven by Geoff Olholm and Hadyn Redfern had overheating problems in the sand and they lost about an hour. Andy Brown in the Holden Frontera had slipping clutch issues but he got to service. Bruce Garland dropped back to 7th.

But sand wasn’t the only issue for the team:

“We hit some huge rocks at speed and that knocked the geometry for six. I thought we had a flat rear and the car was pretty wayward at times. We have sorted that out and we put “Kiwi” (Lawrence Richmond) to work on welding up some cracks that have appeared in the sub-frame as a result of those hits. Having a specialist welder in the team makes a difference in the Safari” said Steve

Tonight the cars are in Geraldton and the WA Minister for Tourism is in town for the event. The teams have spent time signing autographs and handing out marketing material. However, the real focus of attention is Paul Borg’s signature spaghetti bolognaise meal followed by fruit salad and custard.

Tomorrow the cars finish at Mount Magnet, which is north east of Geraldton, after driving for about 600 km about 400 km of which is competitive. The day starts on fast station roads that continue throughout with rough sections. Care needs to be taken when travelling along fence lines and there is a deep creek crossing that needs to be avoided.

The next stage starts rough, but then opens onto fast station roads, overgrown in some minor sections, but team will have to keep well away from quicksand around the edge of a lake.


The Australasian Safari covers about 3600km of the WA outback from Perth to Kalgoorlie, finishing in the gold mining city next Saturday, August 8.

Riley’s service team comprises long time mechanic Chris Stone who is assisted by Troy McAinch and Paul Borg. Welding specialist Lawrence Richmond and Motec specialist Matt Turnbull round out the team. Power from the 500 hp Pajero is delivered via a 6 speed Holinger box and it is stopped by a proven braking package developed by Kevin Gavin at Specialised Brake & Clutch.

Live results and a Twitter link can be accessed here: AUSTRALASIAN SAFARI

For more details contact:
Peter Haggstrom

0405 252 186 (mobile)

02 August 2009

[Haggers]

GARLAND AUSTRALASIAN SAFARI UPDATE: DAY ONE
SEVENTH OUTRIGHT

Bruce Garland and Harry Suzuki are seventh outright and first in class after Day One of the 2009 Australasian Safari.

The pair and their Isuzu D-MAX ute were sixth fastest on Special Stage One and 10th quickest on Special Stage Two.

Racing started this morning after the crews left the West Australian capital of Perth, travelling a total of 575.03km – including 101.41km of competitive stages – to the coastal city of Geraldton (see map below). The event finishes in the gold mining city of Kalgoorlie next Saturday, August 8.

“We just took it pretty easy today, just cruised basically,” says Garland.

“Some wise old driver once said that if you want to finish first, first you have to finish. Today was Day One so there was no point trying to be a hero when we have another six days to go.

“The new engine is going really well, so we’re pretty happy for the moment.”

At the end of the first day, Safari veteran Des Harrington had a narrow 15-second buffer over fellow Nissan Patrol driver, Adrian Parker, with defending champion Steve Riley third a further five seconds back in a Mitsubishi Pajero.

Garland and Suzuki, who have won the Safari five times, are using the West Australian event as preparation for the 2010 Dakar Rally, to be run in Argentina and Chile next January. The pair finished 11th outright and first diesel ute home in the legendary event in January this year.

They finished third in last year’s Safari with the same vehicle they are using this year, which was the prototype for their Dakar car. The vehicle has been up-specced to match the Dakar vehicle, and has also had some further improvements in terms of suspension and diesel engine technology.

Before these latest improvements, the D-MAX – hand-built in Garland’s Sydney workshop – was putting out around 160kW of power which was an increase of 33 per cent on the standard vehicle, and 500Nm of torque (@2000rpm; up 39 per cent), but Garland says it now has more pulling power and top-end speed.

PLACINGS AFTER LEG ONE: AUTO

1.Harrington/Harrington Nissan Patrol 1h19m37s
2. Parker/McGilvray Nissan Patrol + 15 seconds
3. Riley/Doble Mitsubishi Pajero + 20 seconds

7. Garland/Suzuki Isuzu D-MAX 1h23m43s

OFFICIAL STAGE DESCRIPTIONS
LEG ONE
Great opening stage – coastal, true WA sandy stage but still a real test. Lose momentum and you will need assistance. Some difficult water crossings in the low-lying land.
After the opening stage, another sandy stage with tight turns. Hard to see the correct route in some locations.

LEG TWO
Two stages between Geraldton and Mt Magnet. The day starts with a daunting 244.75km stage, followed by another 137km stage that is certain to sort out the contenders from the pretenders. The day starts on fast station roads that continue throughout with rough sections as indicated. Care needs to be taken when travelling along fence lines, particularly from 104.54km to 118.57km. A deep creek crossing needs to be avoided at 109.66km.
The second section also starts rough, but then opens onto fast station roads, overgrown in some minor sections. Keep well away from quicksand around edge of lake at 123.13km.


For further information on the event, visit the Australasian Safari website at: AUSTRALASIAN SAFARI


*** For more information about the team, contact Liz Swanton, 0417 232 643; lizswanton@hotkey.net.au

[Haggers]

MEDIA RELEASE - AUSTRALASIAN SAFARI 2009 - RILEY & DOBLE NOW IN 2nd PLACE AT THE END OF DAY 3
After yesterday’s problems with the steering rack, today was less eventful in a mechanical sense but it marked a turning point in the tempo of the Safari because it was one of the “marathon” days with a total distance of about 750 km of which about 450 km were competitive.

Riley and Doble in the Cairns Coconut Holiday Resort Mitsubishi Pajero appear to have clawed their way back to 2nd position behind Terry “Tangles” Conner and Jodi Conner in the Nissan Patrol when the cars pulled into Leonora for the overnight stay. Paul and Kees Weel are in 3rd while Bruce Garland and Harry Suzuki are well within striking range in 4th. At the time of writing this the official positions were not posted on the website.
There were four stages today one of which went through some stunning rocky country which contained some rock formations which put the Devil’s Marbles to shame according to Steve:

“The scenery was fantastic with these massive rocks just sprouting out of the ground. They were like the Devil’s Marbles on steroids and we had to plot a course between them. The roads in this area were some of the best I’ve driven on”
As the day wore on and the sun became low it was incredibly hard to even see the road because of the dust and the angle of the light hitting the stone crazed windscreen.
“You wouldn’t believe it – at one point this afternoon neither of us could actually see the road – we knew it was there but we couldn’t see it! It was hard to find our way at times and as it was getting dark it was a slow pace in the dust”. About 20 km from the end of the stage we hit some massive rock and up to that point I was happy that the tape at 12 o’olock on the steering wheel had not swapped position to 6 o’clock as it did yesterday. Fortunately the hit didn’t destroy the wheel alignment” said Steve.
The only mechanical issue today was a rear drive shaft which Troy, Lawrence and Stoney replaced in about 10 minutes although. A picture of the steering rack damage on Day 2 can be found here: SAFARI [LiVE] (scroll down)

A shot of the car on Day 2 can be found here: AUSTRALASIAN SAFARI

Tomorrow there won’t be a luxury of servicing during the day and that it what is going to completely scramble the positions. Tomorrow it is another relatively long day with about 500 km all up so if something breaks you will have to limp through all the stages so the car can be repaired over night. Days 5 and 6 are marathon days with no day time servicing.

“The marathon days force you to dial the pace back and whoever has the least trouble will reap the rewards” said Steve
Now Paul Borg and John Doble were sufficiently attracted by the allure of Fifi Box to get up at 4 am to take part in a live cross for her weather report on Channel 7’s “Sunrise” program. Would they have got up at 4 am to stare into Kochie’s bleary eyes?

Day 4
This stage follows mainly station tracks with numerous ruts and washouts, there are some spectacular scenes along the edge of the large breakaways, but heed warnings of large ruts in this section before climbing the breakaways.
A tough and technical stage, some fast sections along good station tracks and a number of fencelines in the beginning, however lots of rough and navigational challenging sections throughout.
A short challenging stage for navigation and technical riding / driving.

The Australasian Safari covers about 3600km of the WA outback from Perth to Kalgoorlie, finishing in the gold mining city next Saturday, August 8.

Riley’s service team comprises long time mechanic Chris Stone who is assisted by Troy McAinch and Paul Borg. Welding specialist Lawrence Richmond and Motec specialist Matt Turnbull round out the team. Power from the 500 hp Pajero is delivered via a 6 speed Holinger box and it is stopped by a proven braking package developed by Kevin Gavin at Specialised Brake & Clutch.

Live results and a Twitter link can be accessed here: AUSTRALASIAN SAFARI

For more details contact:
Peter Haggstrom

0405 252 186 (mobile)


04 August 2009

[Haggers]

BRUCE GARLAND – SAFARI UPDATE – LEG THREE
TUESDAY, AUGUST 4
FOURTH OUTRIGHT
(no photos available)
Based on results through after three of today’s four stages, Bruce Garland and Harry Suzuki (Isuzu D-MAX) are in fourth outright and first in class after Leg Three of the seven-day 2009 Australasian Safari.

We are still waiting for the organisers to post the results of the last stage of today’s marathon leg (nearly 750km, with 495km of competitive stages), and at this point cannot reach Bruce by phone.

He was third fastest on the first two stages today, to be second outright, but appears to have had some issues on the third stage, posting 14th fastest time to be fourth outright.

Andy Brown has seen his chances of victory disappear in the Auto class (still trying to find out what happened), but fellow Victorian Terry “Tangles” Conner has put his Nissan Ute into the lead, four minutes ahead of 2008 winner Steve Riley in a Mitsubishi Pajero.

Leg Three of the seven-day, 3600km epic journey around the West Australian outback saw competitors tackle four competitive stages, the longest being the 173km Noondie Loop stage. Road conditions were rough, sandy and overgrown over much of the route, with vehicle preservation at the forefront of most competitors’ minds.

With Brown’s demise in the Auto category, Terry and Jodi Conner and their Nissan ute are now setting the pace, well aware they have a string of Safari veterans on their tail as the event nears its half-way mark.
Riley had set up a lead of around 30 minutes, but the reigning champion hit a patch of water and hit a tree, damaging the steering rack on his Pajero and dropping a lot of time. With the car fixed, he set about making up lost ground and now sits less than four minutes behind Conner, with former V8 Supercar driver Paul Weel third in his ex-factory Holden Colorado.
Leg Four (from the official route notes)
Tomorrow sees the Australasian Safari head north-east from Leonora to Laverton over three stages and 301km of competition. Western Australia’s spectacular outback scenery plays a prominent role tomorrow with some magnificent views, although riders and drivers will have little time to take their eyes off the road.

This stage follows mainly station tracks with numerous ruts and washouts. There are some spectacular scenes along the edge of the large breakaways, but heed warnings of large ruts in this section before climbing the breakaways. The last 13km opens again onto station tracks.

A tough and technical stage, some fast sections along good station tracks and a number of fence lines in the beginning, however lots of rough and navigational challenging sections throughout. A short challenging stage for navigation and technical riding / driving.

AUTO (after SS7)
1 Terry CONNER (Vic) / Jodi CONNER (Vic), Nissan GQ Ute, 09:43:18
2 Stephen RILEY (Vic) / John DOBLE (NSW), Mitsubishi Pajero, +3m54s
3 Paul WEEL (Qld) / Kees WEEL (Qld), Holden Colorado, +16m55s
4 Bruce GARLAND (NSW) / Harry SUZUKI (NSW) Isuzu DMAX, +23m06s
5 Reg OWEN (Vic) / Russell CAIRNS (Vic), Nissan Patrol, +26m56s


Liz Swanton
Media Liaison: Garland MotorSports
lizswanton@hotkey.net.au
(612) 9771 1277 // 0417 232 643