Smith Australian Safari- Smith now second after Day 7 win

by Dave · August 31, 2007

Yamaha Safari team superstar Jacob Smith now sits second outright in the bike section of the 2007 Australian Safari after blitzing the field on Day 7 of the nine day event which is being held in regional Western Australia

RMA Yamaha Safari team superstar Jacob Smith now sits second outright in the bike section of the 2007 Australian Safari after blitzing the field on Day 7 of the nine day event which is being held in regional Western Australia. Smith, who at 18 years of age is the youngest competitor in the field, won all three stages contested between Leonora and Kalgoorlie yesterday, and in doing so, leapfrogged seasoned competitors Andrew Coaker and Adrian Channing to move into second place.

Mounted aboard the Sam Laws Motorcycles-supplied WR450F in his debut Australian Safari event, Smith now sits eight minutes and 12 seconds behind race leader Ben Grabham and said with two days of competition remaining nothing is impossible. “I had a much better day yesterday – no fence lines to worry about," he said. "It was more about riding, with lots of twists and turns in the bush."

“It was more navigation than speed. You had to be on your maps. The bike is just awesome and these conditions really suit me so I am confident I can pull off another big result today. I’d like to win, I’ve come here to win. First would be great, second would be ok,” Smith concluded.

The penultimate day will see competitors travel 600kilometres and undertake 236.48 competitive kilometres as they work their way to the final overnight stop in York tonight.

Top 10 bikes – After Stage 26, Day Seven, Australian Safari (Provisional)
1. B GRABHAM (NSW), Honda CRF 450X, 11:30:41
2. J SMITH (NSW), Yamaha WR450, 11:36:53
3. A CHANNING (NSW), KTM 660 Rallye, 11:43:20
4. A COAKER (NSW), Honda CRF 450X, 11:44:09
5. A RIEMANN (SA), KTM 450EXC, 12:47:46
6. I ERCEG (WA), Honda XR650, 12:54:14
7. M FISH (VIC), KTM 525 EXC, 13:06:14
8. NORTHOVER (WA), KTM SXC 625, 13:10:24
9. SCHWARZ (SA), KTM 660 Rally, 13:15:39
10. CLEARY (UAE), Honda CRF 450X, 13:18:42