KiwiSafariTeam - Australasian Safari 2011

[CrazyFrog]

Bummer Andrew, but full marks for all your work just getting to this stage.What's happened to Seth, I heard he had a spectacular crash and can't see him in day 3 results nor in withdrawls. Details?

Here's a couple of good pics for the record

[GSDane]

Originally Posted by CrazyFrog

Bummer Andrew, but full marks for all your work just getting to this stage.What's happened to Seth, I heard he had a spectacular crash and can't see him in day 3 results nor in withdrawls. Details?

This is from Seth's blog in the Racing forum (post #153):

Originally Posted by Seth S

Well had an interesting day today. long day with over 500 km of stages. up at 4:30 am and off the line at 7:46. first stage was about 250 km long and it was a real blast. some rough sections, some low and high speed deep sand, and some absolutely fantastic fast sweeping sections. the 690 was awesome. i stopped to help jaybo sort out a fuel issue. towards the end off the stage i was very low on fuel and cut the pace way back. 3km from the end i found a quad rider on the ground with what he figured was a broken leg. a truck had stopped for him so i stayed and let the truck go. he had hit this nasty square edged ledge and it sounded like he went over the bars and the quad ran him over. he was stable so i fetched the quad from the tree it was parked in and parked it up the road for a warning and some protection. when the helicopter came in it was crazy...they landed fast and close and we blast with sand etc. so then i let there...hit service, swapped road books, ate half a sandwich, drank a power aid and headed off.

Stage 2: 300+ km.

at the start of the stage there was one bike in front of me and the entire field of trucks behind. the one bike opted to wait for the trucks to go. i opted to go ahead of them as i needed the practice for being passed by trucks. my minute counted down and i took off with a 4 minute lead on the first truck. my rhythm was good, good speed, dec on with navigation. around 47km in the track met a wire fence line and turned to follow. my speed through section was between 60km/h and 100km/h because it was rather rough. earlier in the day i had hit 160km/h on a fence line. there were several notes for "road goes right around object" in these spots the road deviates from the fence line around the object and then returns...makes it easy to see , slow, and deal with the object. Well....at km 49 there was a stay right around mound. i estimate i was doing about 60mph (100km/h) on the approach....looking for the turn in the road. well there was no turn but there was a mound. i hit it going close to 60mph. the impact was bad. my hands stayed on he bars but my feet were in the air...my bike was in the air...i had a good flight...landed ugly, hit a second hump and bounced. landed again aimed 30 degrees...maybe.....towards the fence. Next i hit the 4 wire fence....as the bike slid along the fence my momentum carried my body over the fence and he bike revolved over the top as well. the cables were thoroughly entwined around the bike. we slid along until the ext post where we parted company...rapidly. this all happened in about 3 seconds. with the bike parked it was time to find a place for me to set dan gently. luckily the area was as smooth and hard as a tennis court and littered with fist sized jagged rocks. i figured i went about 5 or 10 feet through the air before landing on my head and shoulder. i bounced and slid a couple of times...all with my eyes closed. i will not lie...i have never felt so much pain in my life . when i came to a stop everything hurt. i laid on my side for a couple om minutes and slowly assessed my condition. when everything seemed to work i got to my knees. then i got to my feet. my right thumb had no strength, my left shoulder hurt a lot, and my hip was bruised. my jacket was torn....oh, the bike was tangled in the fence completely upside down and only the left bar was touching the ground. i managed to get my gear off, check mysql out, then called rally control. i am happy to say i had a good 15 to 20 minute lead on the truck that started 4 minutes behind.

so control sent the medic truck out to get me and recovery got my bike. damage to the bike appears to be limited to one broken zip tie

damage to Seth: right thumb is broken, currently in a cast, and tomorrow i fin out if it will be pinned left shoulder is bruised, muscles work under protest. right knee bruised...good armor did its job. left hip is road washed and very bruised. Head is fine, as well as spine and neck. so, my safari is over i was at the doctors office with Rod Faggotter and and Nigel...dont know las name.

Bugger... but from the later posts he seems to be in good spirit

Cheers, GSDane.

[topo]

Yip Seth's happy enough, obviously gutted to be done but pretty philosophical about it all.


Todd Smith waiting for his min to come up, the focus of these front guys is incredible!

Will try and get some action shots tomorrow where there are a couple of spectating points.

Cheers,
Topo

[richarde]

Hi all, I'm one of JayBo1's friends from work so am keeping an eye on this thread and his progress.

I just noticed Andrew Jones has posted a time (position 31) in SS10. They must have got the bike issues sorted?

[CrazyFrog]

Yes, Andrew Jones is back in the race, after some drastic bike mods which have left his 530EXC looking more like a USA spec 690E . Looks like the race stewards have okay'd this so he can continue

AJ giving the faulty stator the evil eye while his dead 530 has a bit of a rest, the donor bike's proximity is all too tempting




Grrrr, damned electrical stuff


So the boys get busy changing race numbers and setting Seth's 690 up for AJ, and before we know it, AJ is back in the game


I bet there's a huge smile under that helmet




With the 2 days (over 20 hrs) worth of time penalties handed to AJ, he's well down in the overall standings in 32nd, but the finishers medal is what he's after, so it's great to see him back in the fray. To simply accomplish that and not crash out is an achievement in itself.
Jaybo has been consistant on the 450R and is currently sitting in 24th overall after SS11. By all accounts, he's having an enjoyable rally with no major hiccups.

[#1mom]

So glad to see you back in the race Andrew. Hope the 690 takes you to the end successfully. It is the least it can do after all the dineros it took to get it there. Seth must feel pretty good about it too.
We'll be cheering you and Jaybo on from the states.
Go team Kiwi.
xoxomomanddad

[clintnz]

Fantastic! Back in the race! It would have sucked to be rendered a spectator by a mere electrical gremlin after so much effort to get there.

Go hard Andrew! (but remember that 690 won't slow down quite as quick as a 530! )

Cheers
Clint

[javahead]

It was very generous of Seth to offer his 690 for me to ride, and a welcome surprise to be allowed by the officials.
Yesterday was two relatively straightforward sections. A longish 240km one around a lake, and a shorter 160km one on some land that hadn't been used before.
I quickly learned why Seth had said not to be too concerned about staying on the track, and to be ready to pick new lines through scrub and rocks. The bike is definitely heavier and harder to turn and stop. On the other hand it has way more power, and is very relaxed in how it likes to be ridden.
I took things very easy because I'm officially out of contention now, and because I want to be able to bring Seth's bike through to the end. Seth may be happy hitting 160 on the fence lines, but it's not something I'm comfortable with on a bike I've never ridden before.
We had a number of things to tighten up, adjust and repair in the evening. The roadbook and odometer mounting cracked through, and had to be zip tied together along the way. Ben fabricated a solid replacement from whatever he could find here. We took the suspension clickers back to standard because the ride was a little hard for me. It was able to take big hits in its stride, but was banging me up a bit.
We've been promised a long and difficult day today, and it's time to get up, eat, and get some gear on.

[Underground]

We were discussing this last night and my wife said "Seth cant ride because of injury and Andrew has a broken bike why dont they ......"
Obviously you guys have been putting 2 and 2 together as well.
Great to see you out there again Andrew and keep up the good pace Jaybo.

[Padmei]

Hey Andrew, considering that you brought a bike all the way from here & accumulated extra evpenses would have surely been a consderation of the officials. At the end of the day it's in their interests to have as many happy punters as they can.

Great stuff - sounds exciting from over here

[pampaX]

Brilliant nice to hear you're back on the race enjoy it as if it was a second chance and nice from Seth to lend the bike

Originally Posted by javahead

It was very generous of Seth to offer his 690 for me to ride, and a welcome surprise to be allowed by the officials.
Yesterday was two relatively straightforward sections. A longish 240km one around a lake, and a shorter 160km one on some land that hadn't been used before.
I quickly learned why Seth had said not to be too concerned about staying on the track, and to be ready to pick new lines through scrub and rocks. The bike is definitely heavier and harder to turn and stop. On the other hand it has way more power, and is very relaxed in how it likes to be ridden.
I took things very easy because I'm officially out of contention now, and because I want to be able to bring Seth's bike through to the end. Seth may be happy hitting 160 on the fence lines, but it's not something I'm comfortable with on a bike I've never ridden before.
We had a number of things to tighten up, adjust and repair in the evening. The roadbook and odometer mounting cracked through, and had to be zip tied together along the way. Ben fabricated a solid replacement from whatever he could find here. We took the suspension clickers back to standard because the ride was a little hard for me. It was able to take big hits in its stride, but was banging me up a bit.
We've been promised a long and difficult day today, and it's time to get up, eat, and get some gear on.

[#1mom]

Good to see Jaybo and AJ still in and doing well.
Go for it Team Kiwi.
xoxomomanddad

[SYDADVGS]

+1

[topo]

Well it's almost done, we've just got into the last gathering area before the riders go out for the final 2 stages this afternoon. apparently there's a delay with the first stages due to trees being down across the tracks following high winds, looks like it might be a fair wait till the boys get here.

A few pics from the last 2 days.


Annie getting into the Leonora Biv from laverton




When road books go bad, seths RB mount after Lav-Leo stage


Andrew ready to go this morning


Rear mouse from seths/andrews bike following yesterdays leo-leo stages, appears to have been damaged by a rock then continued to split around the outside edge.

More photos later.

Cheers,
Topo

[troy safari carpente]

Originally Posted by CrazyFrog

Yes, Andrew Jones is back in the race, after some drastic bike mods which have left his 530EXC looking more like a USA spec 690E . Looks like the race stewards have okay'd this so he can continue

With the 2 days (over 20 hrs) worth of time penalties handed to AJ, he's well down in the overall standings in 32nd, but the finishers medal is what he's after, so it's great to see him back in the fray. To simply accomplish that and not crash out is an achievement in itself.
Jaybo has been consistant on the 450R and is currently sitting in 24th overall after SS11. By all accounts, he's having an enjoyable rally with no major hiccups.

9.6
FINISHER

To qualify as a finisher in the event and qualify for a finisher’s medallion, a crew, with their vehicle must:
1. Complete the course to the satisfaction of the organisers, in total accordance to these regulations.
2. Have not been excluded from the event by the Stewards for any breach of regulation.

To qualify for a

100% SAFARI award, a competitor must complete 100%of the course as presented by the organisers and NOT incur any penalties.

Jaybo IS eligible for this 100% award when he crosses the line in Kalgoorlie.

It is a testament to the generosity and sportsmanship of Seth, that after retiring from the event and following on for the rest of the rally with the Team Kiwi Safari support team, that he kindly offered his bike to AJ when the 530 EXC experienced it electrical woe's. Also a great gesture from the scruitineer's and stewards to okay this and at least allow AJ to continue in the remainder of the event... both value for money and vital experience rally seat time!

Hope you guy's have had a ball!