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CAN-AM CONFIRM FACTORY ENTRY IN 2008 AUSTRALIAN SAFARI29/Jul/2008The Quad bikes will have their own separate category for the first time in the history of the Australasian Safari, with the factory Can-Am X Team already signalling their intentions to compete with two highly-credentialed riders.Paul ‘Smitty’ Smith and Darryl ‘Bullet’ Knight will ride Can-Am’s Renegade 800X quad and push for the inaugural quad bike victory in 2008.Two-wheel motorcycles have traditionally competed in Australia’s toughest off-road event, and while some four-wheeled quads contested the Safari in 2000, this is the first time they have had their own stand-alone class, and they are expected to provide plenty of thrills for both riders and spectators. The Can-Am Renegade 800X quad is a ‘monster’ of a bike which weighs over 350kg, but is pushed along by a fuel-injected Rotax 800 V-Twin engine, with on-demand four-wheel drive transmission and long travel suspension. The move to compete in the Safari is part of Can-Am’s campaign to build the sport of quad bike racing. It is pushing the category, and promoting recreational riding, like no other manufacturer before them. Fresh from his second win in the Finke Desert Race, Paul Smith should start favourite to take out the Safari quad bike section. Smith is also a regular competitor in the Victorian MX racing series, and the Tri-State MX series. While he’s confident of doing well, Smith knows the Australasian Safari will be a unique challenge. “I think for all first timers to Safari, the amount of kilometres and the navigation will be our biggest challenges,” Smith said. “I am a very competitive person. My eyes are on winning, for sure, but I think my main aim is just to finish each day as it comes.”  Competition will be particularly tough from his
team-mate ‘Bullet’ Knight, but Smith is also hearing
whispers of some major international competition as
well.“There is a rumour that an ATV has entered from South Africa, and (the rider) is a former quad class winner in Dakar. If this is true, I think he will be the man to beat,” Smith adds. As a multiple Finke winner, Smith isn’t too concerned about the road or weather conditions during the event, but he obviously has his preferences. “Just enough rain to settle the dust would be nice, but as we saw in the Finke Desert Race this year, the wetter and slipperier it gets, the bigger the advantage for the quads over the two wheelers. “The Renegade 800X is an awesome bike that should be able to do the distance without too many issues.” To cope with the rough and tough conditions of the rugged Western Australian outback, the Can-Am X Team will have a service support crew of five people following them in the event. Regardless of his result at the end of the day, Smith is grateful that quads have finally been allowed to compete in the event. “I'd just like to thank (Event Director) Justin Hunt for getting quads into the Safari. I know there was a lot of red tape to make it happen, but this should open a lot of doors for quad racing now,” he says. For his assault on the 2008 Australasian Safari, Smith has sponsorship support from Can-am, Kenda, Axo, Hardiman ATV, Fox Shox, Maxima Oil, Cernic's, Luke Beechey Motorsports, 47industries, Colac Motorcycles and Vortex. Entries for the Australasian Safari close on Friday, July 25, with a strong field expected for the second running of the event in Western Australia. Starting in Kalgoorlie on Saturday August 23, the Australasian Safari visits Sandstone, Meekatharra, Mt Magnet and Geraldton, before finishing in Perth on Saturday, August 30. |
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