news: Lowndes in stunning form on the Safari

Craig Lowndes has stunned the opposition on the Leg 4 of the Australasian Safari — Craig Lowndes has stunned the opposition on Leg 4 of the Australasian Safari

Leg Four of the Australasian Safari has been a day of getting down to business in the car division with the gaps widening at the top of the field.

Craig Lowndes and Kees Weel in a Holden Colorado stretched out a 19 minute lead in the Western Australian outback.

The V8 Supercar star started the day in first position after officials removed several minutes from his overall time after he had stopped to assist a fellow competitor who had crashed on the third leg.

Featured Videos

Lowndes had also struggled with clutch issues, but with that rectified prior to Leg 4, the L&H Phillip Island 500 winner put his foot down.

A good day was had by Bruce Garland and Harry Suzuki in their Isuzu DMAX as they move up two places to third fastest in the auto field, 32 minutes behind the leaders.

Darren Green and Wayne Smith also had a strong run, now in the second fastest position, also moving two places up the field.

Tighter competition in the bikes section with Ben Grabham out in front — Tighter competition in the bike section with Ben Grabham out in front

Father and son team Des and Richard Harrington are in fifth position.

It’s tighter in the motorcycle division, with the top four within 12 minutes of each other.

Ben Grabham is currently in the lead by almost seven minutes ahead of Rod Faggotter, and nine minutes ahead of Todd Smith. Mathew Fish is also riding within the tight pack.

Last year’s winner Jacob Smith was the first bike out today from Coolgardie, but came into trouble in the second stage of the day, coming off his bike and requiring a helicopter transfer to Kalgoorlie Hospital with a suspected broken leg and injured shoulder.

The top international competitor is currently Swedish competitor Annie Seel currently in 16th position of a field of 40.

Classifications for Stage 10 in regards to the moto category are under review by the event organisers after a number of riders stopped to assist Jacob Smith after his fall. This means that for now the start order for Leg 5 is based on the classifications at the end of Stage 9.

Considered one of the world’s great endurance events, the Australasian Safari is travelling from Southern Cross in the wheatbelt through to the historic Western Australian goldfields, desert, rugged bush and coastal sand dunes, finishing at Esperance.

Here is the video update

End of Leg 4 Results : Auto Division

1	Craig Lowndes / Kees Weel	Holden Colorado	19:24:26
2	Darren Green / Wayne Smith	Nissan Patrol	19:43:15
3	Bruce Garland / Harry Suzuki	Isuzu DMAX	19:56:52
4	Warren Denham / Michael Denham	Mitsubishi Triton	20:13:51
5	Des Harrington / Richard Harrington	Nissan Patrol	20:17:34
6	Kerry Turley / Naomi Tillett	Nissan Patrol	20:22:17
7	Neil Dunn / William Dunn	Nissan Patrol	21:33:16
8	Tony Flood / Tom van Kann	Mitsubishi Pajero	21:36:31
9	Murray Young / Paul McBean	Mitsubishi Pajero	22:36:36
10	Graeme Muldrew / Keith Earle	Mitsubishi Pajero	24:06:38

End of Leg 4 Results* : Moto Division

1	Ben Grabham	KTM 530 EXC	15:01:05
2	Rod Faggotter	Yamaha WR450F	15:09:56
3	Todd Smith	KTM 530 EXC	15:10:36
4	Matthew Fish	KTM 530 EXC	15:12:56
5	David Schwarz	Husaberg FE570	16:56:27
6	David Beavis	Honda CRF 450	17:08:07
7	Kenny Scott	Honda CRF 450	17:45:30
8	James Anthony Chittick	Honda CRF 450	18:08:44
9	Robert Lang	KTM 450EXC	18:11:39
10	Joshua Petrig	KTM 503 EXC	18:26:10