| Tävlingsdag 6, 29 aug |
| Skrivet av Redaktionen | |
| 2008-08-29 | |
|
"Inställd tävlingsdag"
GARLAND MOTOR SPORT UPDATE: AUSTRALASIAN SAFARI DAY SIX: FRIDAY, August 28, 2008 A frustratingly quiet day for the Garland Motor Sports/Tubus Racing team today, with all stages cancelled because of wet weather in the Mt Magnet area where the Australasian Safari competitors spent last night. The crews were due to head out this morning for several hundred kilometres of competition, but about 8pm last night they were told the run through to the coastal town of Geraldton would be simply a transport stage. “It was pretty boring, really,” says Isuzu D-MAX driver, Bruce Garland. “We just motored up the highway. And would you believe, after all the country we’ve been through, Des Harrington [who is currently in second place to Bruce’s third] broke a diff, just before we came into service. Just driving up the highway! ”It’s a shame they didn’t let the event go ahead after the rain – the D-MAX is really good in mud and I reckon we could have clawed back some time.” Instead, losing today’s stages means there is little chance of Garland and his co-driver Harry Suzuki and their Swedish teammates Pelle Wallentheim and Olle Ohlsson (currently fourth in their Isuzu VehiCross) advancing too much further up the leaderboard – although neither crew will call it quits before they get to the podium. “We only have one stage tomorrow, which is about 75km, but it includes some serious sanddunes, and the D-MAX is sensational in sanddunes,” says Bruce, who tested his vehicle in sand country on the way from Sydney to WA before the event started. The VehiCross is also good in sand, because of its light weight. If he holds position at third, Bruce will still be quite satisfied with the week’s work. A podium finish on debut of a new car is nothing to sneeze at. More importantly, it bodes well for what the D-MAX will face when it gets to Dakar. “The two cars ahead of us in this event have much more power than we do. They’re both running six-litre Chevvy engines and we’ve been trading times with them all week. “They also have more power than the Dakar cars. Dakar cars have restrictors, so if we can match it with these guys, we should be matching it with the Dakar cars, and that’s all good news. “And it’s so reliable too. We haven’t had to do much more than check the tyres each night, do a quick once over and throw in some fuel. Servicing has been a breeze in our camp.” Bruce says the battle plan for tomorrow is a simple one. “We’re just going to keep on doing what we’ve been doing all week, as far as the driving goes, and stick some more pins into the little voodoo dolls we’ve made of Steve and Des, to see if that helps us beat them!”
By the time, the competitors reach the finish line at Forrest Place in the heart of Perth, capital city of WA, they will have travelled about 4300km since the start last Sunday, August 23. The last stage will be a challenge, and could provide a real sting in the tail. The sandy stage also includes water crossings, a monster hillclimb and sections of thick scrub. 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. The Australian and Swedish crews 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. RESULTS – AS OF LEG FIVE (NO RESULTS FOR DAY SIX)
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