Diener DNFs on Australasian Safari Leg 5

As leg 5 was a 'Marathon Day', meaning no vehicle servicing was allowed by support crew, the mechanical failure on Shane Diener's WR 450F effectively ended his chance of a top three finish.

Stages 10 and 11 that made up leg 5 demanded competitors' full attention. Trees had to be navigated throughout the track that started off fast before tightening as it twisted and turned its way around the salt lake.

England's Sam Sunderland recorded one of his few bright spots of the Safari so far, when he won the second stage of the day, 30 seconds ahead of race leader Todd Smith, despite coming off his bike after hitting one of the course's numerous trees.
"Today was tough and tiring riding through the trees. I clipped my left arm on a tree and also had a small crash on Stage 11, but got back on and kept riding," Sunderland said.

Todd Smith won the day's leg, with Sunderland second and Jacob Smith third. Matt Fish finished fourth, followed by Cyril Despres, whose consistency has seen him lock in a top five finish across almost every stage. Manuel Lucchese failed to finish the day's first leg, and was a non-starter for the second, although the reason why is unknown at this stage.
"The first section today was tough," Todd Smith said.
"We had constant turns and tight tracks most of the way. The second stage today wasn't too bad,"

At the end of leg 5, Todd Smith holds a 12 minute lead Jacob Smith, with Rod Faggotter third and Frenchman Cyril Despres moving into fourth overall after Diener's misfortune.

In the Quads, John Maragozidis was quickest across both stages in his MMR Interceptor 850, and retained his substantial lead on the first stage following penalties applied to Colin Lawson after mechanical issues yesterday.

"The tracks were treacherous today! I was going slow and steady to avoid any mistakes I had a clean ride in and looked after the bike. There were lots of twists and turns, which suited me. It looked like the motos were were working hard. Overall, I'm happy with my day," Maragozidis said.

Despite a negligible 4 minute penalty, Maragozidis holds a lead of over four hours from Lawson (Can-am Renegade), with Neville Yeatman (Can-am Outlander) in third.

Leg 6 will see two competitive stages around Leonora totaling 377 competitive kilometres.