Safari day 3 + 4

[elephino]

VODAFONE AUSTRALIAN SAFARI - Tuesday, August 22
<br>DAY 3 REPORT: Curtin Springs-Alice Springs
<br>Total distance: 562km. Competitive distance: 392km (3 stages)

HARRSION IN HOSPITAL - NICASTRI ROLLS NISSAN

Sydney motorcycle rider Derryn Harrison is in the Emergency Care unit in
Alice Springs Hospital with internal injuries after crashing today in the
Vodafone Australian Safari international cross-country rally in the
Northern Territory.

The 33-year-old solicitor crashed his Honda XR400 on day three of the
event after 62km of a 392km competitive course over three stages from
Curtin Springs to Alice Springs. Soon after the accident he was treated by
medical staff accompanying the Safari in a helicopter, and then
transported by air to Alice Springs and admitted to hospital.

Harrison underwent a thorough examination and x-rays revealed no broken
bones. However, he suffered lacerations to his spleen and kidneys, and
internal bleeding, and will take no further part in the Safari. His
partner, Donna Marshall, said it was expected he would be in Intensive
Care for two days and remain hospitalised for about a week.

"The doctors want to keep a close watch on the bleeding, and they are
hopeful it will stop by itself," she said.

Marshall, who had been travelling with the Safari, said she had been told
by Harrison the crash happened when his vision had been clouded by dust.

"Apparently the dust was like a fog and he didn't see a caution on the map
because he was going so fast," she said. "He thinks he hit a hole or
gutter, and was thrown over the handlebars. The injuries happened when he
was hit by the handlebars."

South Australian Andrew Caldecott extended his lead in the Moto Division
of the event by a further 12-mins and 14-secs over second-placed Casey
McCoy of the United States on a Honda XR400. Caldecott, the top seed, has
led from the start and has an overall time of 12-hours 23-mins 58-secs.

"We had no problems today - basically it's been like that since the start
so I couldn't be happier with the way things are going," said Caldecott.

Former 500cc world champion Kevin Schwantz slipped out of the top 10 for
the first time in the Safari. The 35-year-old Texan is now 11th on a
Suzuki DZ-R400.

NSW's Ross Nicastri, who led the Auto Division after the second day,
dropped back toward the rear of the field after rolling his Nissan Patrol
after approximately 40km of today's first stage. Nicastri and navigator
Steve Green were not injured, but did not complete any of today's stages.
They managed to drive their damaged four-wheel-drive vehicle back to Alice
Springs for repairs.

"We're hopeful of making all the necessary repairs overnight and getting
back into the Safari tomorrow," said Nicastri. "The accident happened when
the right-rear wheel clipped a concrete block, and we flipped over.
Luckily it landed on it's wheels. If we can get going again we probably
can't win so we'll be driving for a finish."

Nicastri said the list of damaged components on his vehicle included body
panels, differential, shock absorbers, and rear brakes.

The NSW father-and son-combination of Terry and Michael Denham took the
lead in this year's Safari for the first time with an overall time of
12-hrs 31-mins 35-secs in a Mitsubishi Pajero. They hold an advantage of
2-mins and 9-secs over defending champions Bruce Garland and Harry Suzuki
in a Holden Jackaroo.

The Denhams had been fifth at the end of the second day, after receiving a
40-minute penalty for being late for the start of a stage. However, the
penalty was later dropped after it was found they had been provided with
incorrect navigation information.

Tomorrow the competitors will follow a competitive course over 431km in
three stages from Alice Springs to Wycliffe Well.

<pre><font face="lucida console,courier" size="1">
OVERALL POSITIONS (after Day 3 - Tuesday, August 22):

AUTO DIVISION:
POS DRIVERS VEHICLE TIME
1. T. Denham (NSW)-M. Denham (NSW) Mitsubishi Pajero 12:31.35
2. B. Garland (NSW)-H. Suzuki (NSW) Holden Jackaroo 12:33.44
3. P. Glennie (NSW)-M. Roberts (NSW) Toyota Landcruiser 12:59.07
4. D. Harringon (Vic)-G. Taylor (NSW) Nissan Patrol Ute 13:19.15
5. P. Lockhart (Qld)-T. Donovan (Qld) Holden Jackaroo 13:44.18
6. G. Pfitzner (NSW)-J. Campbell (NSW) Nissan GQ 13:56.30
7. R. Gambino (NSW)-D. Lowe (NSW) Suzuki Grand Vitara 14:14.10
8. B. Danielson (NSW)-B. Nicholson (NSW) Range Rover 14:44.18
9. R. Emmins (Vic)-B. Humphrey (Vic) Jeep Grand Cherokee 14.48.28
10. B. Muir (NT)-A. Muir (NT) Nissan Patrol 15:05.56

MOTO DIVISION:
POS RIDER MOTORCYCLE TIME
1. A. Caldecott (SA) KTM 660 Rallye 12:23.58
2. C. McCoy (U.S.) Honda XR400 13:08.12
3. T. Tervoert (SA) Husqvarna TE610E 13:27.52
4. R. Pollard (WA) KTM 640 Adventure 14:03.57
5. S. Blackney (GB) KTM 660 Rallye 14:10.03
6. G. Hoffman (NSW) KTM 620 14:29.57
7. A. Roberts (NT) Honda XR400 14:35.47
8. T. Kirby (NSW) Suzuki DR-Z400 14:43.45
9. D. Auricht (NT) Yamaha TTR250 15:08.54
10. C. Ross (NT) Honda XR650 15:19.11
11. K. Schwantz (U.S.) Suzuki DR-Z400 15:40.17

[elephino]

VODAFONE AUSTRALIAN SAFARI - Wednesday, August 23
<br>DAY 4: Alice Springs-Wycliffe Well
<br>Total distance: 665km. Competitive distance: 431km (3 stages)


South Australian rider Andrew Caldecott today coped best dodging
anthills and mastering variable terrain to take a stranglehold on the
Moto Division of the Vodafone Australian Safari international cross
country rally through the Northern Territory.

The 36-year-old from Keith, who is racing a KTM 660 Rallye, emerged a
convincing winner in the 431km competitive course from Alice Springs to
Wycliffe Well and extended his lead to 1-hr 16-mins 8-secs over
second-placed Casey McCoy of the United States on a Honda XR400.
Caldecott began the fourth day leading by 44-mins 14-secs, and extended
his advantage by a further 31-mins 54-secs at the halfway stage of the
4,067km Safari, which finishes in Darwin on August 27.

"Today wasn't easy because the anthills were a nightmare," said
Caldecott. "Some of them were covered by long grass and you couldn't see
them. I knocked back my speed in places because if you hit one of those
things they can bring you down. The final stage today was fast and a lot
of fun - I had the rear wheel spinning in the sand at 130-km/h in
places."

Caldecott said that despite his position he was not over-confident
because he had led the 1999 Safari at the same stage before crashing on
day five and he was forced to withdraw with shoulder injuries.

"We're in with a good chance, but there are still a thousand-and-one
things that can go wrong," he said.

McCoy, who is making an impressive Safari debut, conceded that he needed
Caldecott to suffer either a mechanical problem or crash to close the
gap.

"The race is there for Andrew (Caldecott) to take, unless he loses it,"
said McCoy. "I'm getting everything out of my bike, and I'm hoping for
some more tight sections because that's my best chance to catch up."

Former 500cc world champion Kevin Schwantz, also riding in the Safari
for the first time, slipped back from 11th to 12th on his Suzuki
DR-Z400.

"I hit a couple of anthills out there and it almost lifted the front
wheel back over my head, but I managed not to crash," he said.

Darwin teenager Andrew Roberts suffered a dislocated shoulder toward the
finish. He was treated by St John's Ambulance personnel and resumed
racing and completed the section.

NSW's Bruce Garland took the lead in the Auto Division for the first
time in this year's Safari in the Holden Jackaroo he is sharing with
navigator Harry Suzuki. The defending champions began the section 2-mins
and 9-secs behind the NSW father-and-son team of Terry and Michael
Denham in a Mitsubishi Pajero, and finished with a lead of 24-mins and
20-secs.

"We caught Terry (Denham) after about 40km, but we had to follow them
for a long time because of the dust," said Garland. "Then we saw them go
into some bushes and they had a puncture. It gave us the chance and we
never looked back. Now we're in front we can stop driving like
lunatics."

The Denhams were delayed by three punctures today and dropped to second.
The Toyota Landcruiser driven by Peter Glennie slipped from third to
fourth because of differential problems.

<pre><font face="lucida console,courier" size="1">
OVERALL POSITIONS (after Day 4 - Wednesday, August 23):

AUTO DIVISION:
POS DRIVERS VEHICLE TIME
1. B. Garland (NSW)-H. Suzuki (NSW) Holden Jackaroo 16:36.15
2. T. Denham (NSW)-M. Denham (NSW) Mitsubishi Pajero 17:00.35
3. D. Harringon (Vic)-G. Taylor (NSW) Nissan Patrol Ute 17:49.21
4. P. Glennie (NSW)-M. Roberts (NSW) Toyota Landcruiser 18:01.25
5. P. Lockhart (Qld)-T. Donovan (Qld) Holden Jackaroo 18:13.44
6. G. Pfitzner (NSW)-J. Campbell (NSW) Nissan GQ 18:42.10
7. R. Gambino (NSW)-D. Lowe (NSW) Suzuki Grand Vitara 18:49.16
8. T. Pinson (NSW)-R. Lewis (NSW) Mitsubishi Pajero 19:12.42
9. R. Emmins (Vic)-B. Humphrey (Vic) Jeep Grand Cherokee 19:23.36
10. B. Muir (NT)-A. Muir (NT) Nissan Patrol 19:43.02

MOTO DIVISION:
POS RIDER MOTORCYCLE TIME
1. A. Caldecott (SA) KTM 660 Rallye 16:34.29
2. C. McCoy (U.S.) Honda XR400 17:50.37
3. T. Tervoert (SA) Husqvarna TE610E 18:14.51
4. R. Pollard (WA) KTM 640 Adventure 18:39.27
5. S. Blackney (GB) KTM 660 Rallye 19:14.01
6. G. Hoffman (NSW) KTM 620 19:17.52
7. T. Kirby (NSW) Suzuki DR-Z400 19:33.46
8. A. Roberts (NT) Honda XR400 19:47.43
9. C. Ross (NT) Honda XR650 19:26.46
10. D. Auricht (NT) Yamaha TTR250 20:33.35
11. P. Talintyre (NSW) KTM 640 Rallye 20:38.41
12. K. Schwantz (U.S.) Suzuki DR-Z400 20:51.17