Cairns Coconut Resort Rally Team Wins 2011 Australasian Safari

Monday, 24 October 2011

backtonews

Steve Riley and John Doble in a Mitsubishi Pajero powered by a 6 litre v8 500hp engine and fitted with BFGoodrich g1 rock tyres, have for the 3rd time taken out the outright honours of the prestigious international cross country rally held in Western Australia. 

The Australasian Safari is open to autos, quads and motorcycles, with the course running over 4000km of very harsh outback terrain, similar to the world famous Dakar rally, and attracting international entries from countries such as USA, France, Italy, South Africa, Sweden, UK, New Zealand and Thailand. 

The event started on the 23 September in Perth and finished 7 days later in Kalgoorlie, WA's gold fields region. 

Steve and John faced strong opposition from V8 Supercar regular Craig Lowndes driving a v8 powered Holden Colorado. 

Over the course of the event competitors had to negotiate quite technical and fast off road tracks, salt lake crossings and many station bore tracks - much of the terrain was very rutted and washed out with severe erosion from recent rains.  

The team picked the BFGoodrich tyres for their ability not to get punctures - the BFG g1 rock tyre is very puncture resistant and is used by most of the factory teams overseas in events like the Dakar rally. 

"These tyres far exceeded our expectation with no punctures in the competitive stages which can cost you many minutes" said Steve. 

One of the more unusual adventures that the Rally competitors had to contend with was the wild flowers.  Yes, wild flowers!- apparently they are beautiful to look at until your tyres make contact with them which then sees you driving as if you were on ice - in the desert!  

Due to the excellent performance of their tyres and the team's skills, Steve and John completed the stage in good time - with a little panel damage as occasionally the skidding was stopped by a tree or two that got in the way. 

Overall, the team performed perfectly through the tough and rough terrain of WA - the long and complex race stages demanding extreme concentration and high performance from their vehicle and tyres - and reliance on the support team who worked into the nights to attend to the many requirements that such an event delivers.  Look out for them next year in the 2012 Australasian Safari! 

Follow the Coconut Car Racing Team's preparation for 2012 Dakar on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/coconutcarracingteam