More Canning Stunts

The Canning Stock Route speed record has been slashed by 63-year-old Garry Connell, a Sandgroper with a serious addiction to spinifex and sand.
“I’ve ridden the CSR many times on 4×4-supported rides,” says Connell, “and I’ve been planning this solo run ever since Scott Britnell claimed the record back in 2015. Influenza knocked me arse-over in 2017, and a Category 5 cyclone buggered our plans last year. But this year, everything fell into place.”

Together with Peter Robinson and Justin Ashford, Connell did a recce and fuel drops of the southern section during April. Then, come May, they headed north from Well 33 to Bililuna for the final fuel drops and a night in the swag before a 5am start on his Husqvarna FE501.
The crew had counted on doing three fuel stops – the second at midnight, where Garry got a fitful hour’s sleep by the campfire; his only other respite being 45 minutes off the bike just south of Savoury Creek.
“The biggest problem at night is setting yourself up for the dunes and technical sections as you can’t see them coming up,” says Connell, who also faced the problem of a very overgrown and rutted track due to the previous year’s flooding.

Connell had hoped to reach Wiluna before nightfall, but fatigue, cramp and increasing pain from carpal tunnel syndrome meant he missed happy hour. But the Wiluna Club Hotel was still open long enough for Connell to celebrate the new record: 38 hours and 51 minutes, for a total of 1650km.
Aspiring contenders should note that Garry Connell’s effort was considerably quicker for two reasons; the first being that the track from Bililuna to Wiluna is all downhill to the pub. Scott Britnell rode uphill without the incentive of a pub at the finish line.