Faggotter wins 2014 Australasian Safari

The finish line celebrations on Kalbarri Foreshore were a mixture of happiness, relief and sadness for Australasian Safari competitors and organisers. The group of 127 competitors are likely to be the last entrants to race the iconic motorsport event, a few of whom such as Bruce Garland, Steve Riley and Jim Cairns, were also entrants in the first Safari in 1985.

The navigational rally took the cars, bikes, and side-by-side buggies through their paces in a variety of terrain, from the harsh red desert of Western Australia’s Mid-West and Pilbara, to the sandy dunes and coastal scrub of the Coral Coast. The 2014 route was a true test of endurance, with competitors and event officials travelling over 3,500 kilometres in seven days.

Defending Moto division champion, Queensland’s Rod Faggotter, held the Outright lead throughout the seven days, winning eleven of the fifteen stages. American Baja champion, Quinn Cody, was never been far behind, consistently posting a top four time in each stage. Dakar Challenge entrant, Ian Blythe, had a successful first navigational rally, continuously keeping a good buffer of time between himself and his fellow challenge contenders.

“The Yamaha has been awesome,” said Faggotter. “No mechanical issues all week. It has been a dream run really. Always good when you don’t crash, that’s a good event!”

Californian Quinn Cody made sure Rod looked over his shoulder all week, but in the end, was 36 minutes short. “Last leg was a little scary because I had a herd of sheep follow after me at the 60-kilometre mark,” said Cody. “I then punctured the front fuel tank with a stick which caused the bike to surge. I didn’t come with any expectations and I’m happy with second for sure. I’m looking forward to getting to now have a sleep in.”

The third place position was claimed by navigational rally newcomer, Ian Blythe. “Glad I made it,” said Blythe. “Got a little lucky today and was able to follow Quinn out of his navigational error. They fixed the bike yesterday by giving it a smaller sprocket, which allowed it to achieve a higher top speed.”

Ian won the Dakar Challenge, giving him free entry into the 2015 Dakar Rally. “I’m glad I had it together!” said Blythe. The team would have been annoyed if I’d lost a three hour lead!”

For detailed results from the event, click here.