| Tävlingsdag 3, tis 26 aug |
| Skrivet av Redaktionen | |
| 2008-08-26 | |
|
Liz Swanton rapporterar ifrån den tredje dagen av Australian Safari 2008
GARLAND MOTOR SPORT UPDATE: AUSTRALASIAN SAFARI DAY THREE: TUESDAY, August 26, 2008 A ‘big, hard day’ is the way Bruce Garland has summed up Day Three of the 2008 Australasian Safari, saying everyone is having problems. For Bruce and Harry Suzuki (Isuzu D-MAX) of Garland Motor Sport, and Pelle Wallentheim and Olle Ohlsson (Isuzu VehiCross) of Tubus Racing, that meant a number of punctures each, plus some difficulties staying on track. Today was made up of four stages and around 413km of competitive driving (601km total) from Sandstone to Meekatharra (see map sent earlier this week). There were some very rough and rocky sections and some very challenging navigation along the way. As the crews rest in Meekatharra tonight, they have covered a total of 1816.16km since the start on Sunday, with 2484km still to go to the finish line in Perth on Saturday. “One interesting part of the day was this section where we were racing through tunnels of overgrown trees along tracks that no-one had driven for years,” says Bruce. “It sounded like 50 pygmies hitting the side of the car with hammers – and it looked like it too, when we came out the other side!” Bruce says he and Harry have struggled to find their rhythm together, having not competed seriously for a couple of years, but believes they are now back in-sync and is confident things will run more smoothly in the “office” from now on. Both he and Pelle are happy with the way the two Isuzus are performing, with Bruce particularly impressed with the D-MAX, describing it as “sensational”. After the three days, Wallentheim/Ohlsson are in third place, with Garland/Suzuki in fifth (see top results and times below), with Garland posting a first, second and third fastest stage times today.
Auto leader, Steve Riley, was in doubt with engine problems before the day started, but got his Mitsubishi Pajero going and won the first two stages. The car is still losing oil after those early problems, but Riley is hopeful of maintaining his lead. Competitors face the Safari’s toughest day tomorrow, with nearly 600km of stages. It starts with a monster 232km stage, which is quickly followed by another stage of over 220km. Both Bruce and Pelle are competing in the A5 category of the event, for unlimited 4WD recreational vehicles and Extreme 4WD vehicles. Pelle’s VehiCross is in Category A5.1 for modified 4WD vehicles up to 3500cc. Bruce’s D-MAX is in Category A5.2, for modified 4WD vehicles over 3500cc. While the D-MAX engine is 2999cc, because it is turbo-charged the rules state that all diesel engines with forced induction will have their capacity multiplied by a factor of 1.5 (by 1.7 if petrol) as per the current CAMS Cross-Country Technical Regulations. Garland and Wallentheim are competing in the 2008 Australasian Safari as the first stage of their attack on the 2009 Dakar Rally in Argentina. After WA, the two crews will take two Isuzu D-MAX utes built by Garland Motor Sports to contest the UAE Desert Challenge in late October.
AUTO DIVISION (after 9 of 24 stages) Liz Swanton Journalism // PR Den här e-postadressen är skyddad från spam bots, du måste ha Javascript aktiverat för att visa den |
