Australasian Safari 2013--Vehicross, Forester and Sidecar Oh My!

The 2013 Australasian Safari has an additional reason for hype this year as one moto and one "car" entry will win a free entry into the 2014 Dakar based on their performance.  Outside of this, the largest offroad rally in Western Australia is one of the longest and toughest in the Southern Hemisphere. The event has drawn a number of entrants from around the world over the years including ORMHOF (Offroad Motorsports Hall of Fame) member Rod Hall and his team of Hummers in recent years.

While one of the world's classic offroad races, due to its remoteness, like the Taupo 1000 in New Zealand it does draw a number of grassroots and more obscure competitors in addition to those at the top of the industry.  Along with these more grassroots entries comes some of the more interesting vehicles out there racing today.

Example #1--The 1998 Isuzu Vehicross of Andrew and David Travis.  The Vehicross is an iconic SUV of which few were produced, so to see one out racing is remarkable.  I believe this is only the second one I've ever seen in offroad competition and that it is doing so some 15 years after its production is awesome.  Coming into the last day of the event (Leg 7 of 7) the bright yellow Vehicross is sitting 3rd in the event some hour and 20 minutes out of first place.

Example #2--The 2008 Subaru Forester of Robert Herridge and Sam Hill.  The Forester is not exactly your typical offroad racing vehicle but it seems to be holding its own, sitting in 4th place in the event, 2 hours and a half hours out of the lead (25 entries in the "car" class this year).  Given how rocky and sandy sections of this course are, the fact that a Forester (a supposedly "road" oriented SUV) has done this well is impressive.

Example #3--The KTM 525 GPR of Max and Sam Hutchesson.  Yup...a KTM sidecar.  The only sidecar in the event the pair seem to have a great deal of experience as a quick Google search of them picks up numerous photos of them racing and of their various race results in enduros and other offroad motorcycle events around Australia.  Their entrance ends a 17 year absence of sidecars from the Australasian Safari.  They sit some 10 hours adrift but are still in the event and putting on a fantastic show.

Lastly we'll throw in a couple of Nissan Patrols to represent the Nissan's in the field.  There are two Nissan Patrols remaining.  One sits in 6th place three hours and eight minutes adrift and the other sits in 12th, 17 hours back.

One day of racing remains before the event's conclusion.

Condolences are due to the family and friends of biker Ivan Erceg who lost his life on 9/25 during the first stage of the day.  Vaya Con Dios Ivan.

Ervideira Rali TT: Let’s get dirty

A heavy storm hit the winery region of Reguengos de Monsaraz shortly before the start of the third race of the Portuguese CCR championship. Muddy terrain and many breakdowns forced many crews to retire from race. This year’s strongest starting field so far saw more than fifty competitors ready to fight in a sea of mud. The number of favorites increased with arrival of Nicolas Misslin (Mitsubishi Racing Lancer Turbo) and Leonid Novitskiy (BMW X3 CC) the recent winner of Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge.

The first loser of the race was till then undefeated Campos. An electronic problem had been switching his engine into the safe mode and didn’t allow him to finish. On a short prologue some locals were faster than top drivers but most of them lost their positions in progress. Barbosa (Mitsubishi Racing Lancer Turbo) felt a chance to retrieve a win lost in a previous race. Surprisingly it was Rui Sousa (Isuzu D-Max Proto) who managed to set the fastest time in the half time of the race. Moniz da Maia (BMW X3 CC) improved his position notably but was still far from a leading position. Lino Carapeta (QT Wildcat 200) was on the twelfth position but his time was about to come.

Rui Sousa lost a turbo and dropped out not only from the fight for the first place but even from the race generally. Barbosa had been leading for more than 100 kilometers when whole pack of difficulties befell his car. Thirty kilometers to finish his originally 15-minute advantage was reduced to just three minutes on the second Nuno Mutos. Portuguese driver had been performing flawlessly with his production group Isuzu D-Max until the left rear tire decided to go on its own. Lino Carapeta fully utilized misfortunes of his rivals and surprisingly won the race. Barbosa thus lost second win in a row at the very end of the race. The third place went to Paulo Sousa (Mitsubishi Pajero) best placed Nissan was that of Ricardo Porém of the fourth place.

Photo: Manuel Cordeiro for maistt.blogspot.com