Todd Smith out of Australasian Safari contention, Jake Smith in the lead

It was an action-packed start for the 2012 Australasian Safari, with last year’s winner, Todd Smith, already out of contention to win, after breaking a crank shaft in Leg 1 from Geraldton to Kalbarri in Western Australia. He is expected to continue, but with a significant time penalty.

Todd’s brother, Jake Smith, had better luck and leads the way in the moto division after the first day of competition. “The beach was cool and I managed to keep away from the water,” Jake said about the first stage on Coronation Beach.

Finishing just 40 seconds after Jake was Western Australian, Warren Strange. Taking out the prologue, Strange topped the timing aboard his Honda CRF450X at 17.39. He got a little close to the water during the beach section on the first day of racing however, and literally hit the waves. “I got too close to the waterline and had a wave wash over me, but the rest of the Leg was uneventful and the bike continued to perform well,” Warren said.

Sitting in third place at the end of day one, was South Australia’s Anthony Diener. Diener posted sixth, third and second place stage times throughout the day, and felt it was a good start to a long, long event. “Just like the old saying, you can’t win it on day 1, but you can lose it, I tried to ride smooth and conservative as we have a big week ahead of us.” Diener stated. “There are a lot of miles to go so it’s just a matter of getting a good feel for the bike, the conditions and not taking any unnecessary risks so early in the event.”

Diener’s teammate, Rod Faggotter, sits in fifth place, just behind KTM mounted Matt Fish in fourth.

Top Ten Moto Standings – After Day 1:

1st. Jake Smith – 2:12.42 (Honda)
2nd. Warren Strange – 2:13.20 (Honda)
3rd. Shane Diener – 2:15.12 (Yamaha WR450F)
4th. Matt Fish – 2:17.41 (KTM)
5th. Rod Faggotter – 2:21.09 (Yamaha WR450F)
6th. Manuel Lucchesse – 2:29.44 (Hus)
7th. Vern Strange – 2:30.28 (Yamaha WR450F)
8th. Brett Cummings – 2:32.25 (Honda)
9th. Chad Vernon – 2:36.50 (Yamaha WR450F)
10th. Alex Van Ginhel – 2:37.11 (KTM)