Lowndes competes in Australasian Safari

HALF a day of driving through sand dunes stands between Craig Lowndes and victory in his first off-road race.  The V8 Supercars driver extended his lead to about an hour in the penultimate leg of the Australasian Safari in Western Australia yesterday.

"We had a great day," he said.  "That is how I expected to the Safari to be; open and fast roads through forestry."

Today, Lowndes and co-driver Kees Weel of the Gold Coast tackle two tough stages in the coastal sand dunes near Esperance with their Holden Colorado.  "There's only one more day to go, but apart from the first bit which is rocky, it's all sand," Lowndes said.

"There are three small stints and we have to navigate right and keep our momentum.  The bikes set off first and will set a rough course and I think we will be the first car off, so navigation will be the ultimate component tomorrow.

"We've been lost and found our way back before. Kees is pretty experienced at this; it's his 13th Safari."  Lowndes said he wasn't thinking about how they would celebrate if they won tomorrow.

"We'll celebrate by getting back on the plane and thinking about Bathurst," he said.  Lowndes and Weel were followed by Victorians Darren Green and Wayne Smith in their Nissan Patrol and Bruce Garland and Harry Suzuki in their Isuzu D-Max, the first diesel-powered vehicle.

The order changed in the bike section yesterday when third-placed rider Rod Faggotter of Longreach pulled out after the first leg suffering with a broken thumb from a fall the previous day.

That leaves a trifecta of KTM riders at the front lead by Bathurst rider Ben Grabham heading for his third victory.  He is followed by Todd Smith of Condobolin, NSW, and Matthew Fish of Kyneton, Victoria.

RESULTS

Pos Veh Crew Vehicle Cat/ SS15 SS16 SS17 SS18 Pen Total No Class
1 100 LOWNDES - WEEL 2003 Holden Colorado A5.2 25:00 03:06 02:57 24:38 30:54:59
2 122 GREEN - SMITH 1999 nissan Patrol A2.2 30:12 03:31 03:18 27:47 32:11:38
3 102 GARLAND - SUZUKI 2010 Isuzu DMAX A5.4 23:36 02:55 02:58 23:33 32:42:42
4 105 TURLEY - TILLETT 1996 Nissan Patrol A5.3 25:16 04:48 02:58 25:46 33:41:13
5 101 FLOOD - VAN KANN 1992 Mitsubishi Pajero A5.1 27:07 05:35 03:53 30:24 34:35:46
6 177 DI LALLO - MASI 1999 Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution A1.1 30:11 03:43 03:18 31:48 38:18:38
7 106 MULDREW - EARLE 2004 Mitsubishi Pajero A1.2 31:47 03:40 03:32 36:31 39:02:37
8 112 MUIR - WALKER 1998 Mitsubishi Pajero EVO A1.1 39:44 03:42 03:17 31:26 41:52:17
9 110 KNOWLES - VILLANOVA 2008 Hummer H2 SUT A5.2 25:11 03:55 03:01 29:30 43:30:59 10 109 WALKDEN - LONG 1998 Mitsubishi Pajero EVO A2.1 28:13 03:18 03:17 27:21 43:35:31
11 137 YUAN DE - TAIGUANG 2005 Quang Qi Chang Feng CFA2 T2.1 47:15 03:42 03:39 34:37 45:09:39
12 103 TWADDLE - TWADDLE 2000 Mitsubishi Pajero A0.2 01:01:44 05:00 04:54 MCf 01:30:00 45:44:51
13 115 OWEN - CAIRNS 2004 NISSAN GU PATROL A5.3 27:39 03:03 03:03 26:05 47:35:02
14 127 YOUNG - MCBEAN 2002 Mitsubishi Pajero A1.5 52:14 03:48 03:31 32:41 47:41:33
15 136 WEI YU - MIN 2005 Guang Qi Chang Feng CFA2 T1.2 44:46 03:25 03:19 25:54 47:59:11
104 HARRINGTON - HARRINGTON 2007 Nissan Patrol A5.3 24:45 03:01 03:03 DNF DNF
107 DENHAM - DENHAM 2003 Mitsubishi Triton A5.2 DNF DNF DNF DNF DNF
108 OLHOLM - DOBLE 2004 Mitsubishi NM Pajero A5.2 DNF DNF DNF DNF DNF
111 DUNN - DUNN 1998 Nissan GU A5.3 DNF DNF DNF DNF DNF
113 WATMAN - WATMAN 1998 Mitsubishi Pajero EVO A1.1 DNF DNF DNF DNF DNF
129 QUINN - FEAVER 1995 Mitsubishi Pajero A5.2 DNF DNF DNF DNF DNF
142 HOFFMANN, Glenn 2010 Dirt-Buggies Superlite A4.4 DNF DNF DNF DNF DNF 150 PINSON - DENBRINKER 2002 Ford ba rtv A3.4 DNF DNF DNF DNF DNF
155 MONKHOUSE - MONKHOUSE 2006 suzuki vitara A5.1 DNF DNF DNF DNF DNF
MCx2 - Missed Start and Finish Controls, MCf - Missed Finish Control, [Time] - Time recorded but Out of Late Time Date 9/25/2010 22:10:50.145 Form No:205 Page 1