| Category: | Off Road Rally |
| Country/Region: | Western Australia |
| Inaugural: | 1985 |
| Folded: | 2014 |
| Website: | Australasian Safari |
The Australasian Safari was an off-road motor sport racing event held in Australia between 1985 and 2014.
The Australasian Safari was first run in 1985 and held under the International Sporting Code of FIM and from 1999, the General Competition Rules of Motorcycling Australia.[1] [2]
It was usually held around the end of August, in the Australian winter, and covered approximately 5,500 kilometres, mostly through the Outback in just over a week.[3] Like the Dakar Rally, the vehicle classes involved were motorcycles and cars, however there were no truck class. From 2008, a quad class was introduced.
The event grew in size and scope for the first few years. In 1988, Australia's Bicentennial year, the event was tagged "The Big One" and was expanded to cover 10,000 km in 15 days, with a start in Alice Springs and traveling across the Tanami Desert, through the Kimberley region into Darwin, across the Gulf Country of far northwest Queensland and an eventual finish in Sydney. Out of 196 starting vehicles, only 96 finished the race.
Initially known as the Wynn's Safari for commercial reasons, the event was renamed in 1989 to the Australian Safari, and to the Australasian Safari in 2008.[4] From 2007 the event was hosted in Western Australia.
Between 1994 and 1997 the event was included in the FIA Cross-Country Rally World Cup. It was last held in 2014 after Tourism Western Australia withdrew its funding for the event.[5]
| Year | Auto - Winner | Moto - Winner | Quad - Winner | Ref | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | align=center | Andrew Cowan Mitsubishi Pajero | align=center | Steve Chapman Honda XR600 | align=center | - | align=center | ||
| 1986 | align=center | Andrew Cowan Mitsubishi Pajero | align=center | Allan Cunnynghame Yamaha XT 600 | align=center | - | align=center | ||
| 1987 | align=center | Doug Stewart Mitsubishi Pajero | align=center | Steve Chapman Honda XR 600 | align=center | - | align=center | ||
| 1988 | align=center | Ross Dunkerton Mitsubishi Pajero | align=center | Michael Goddard Honda NXR 650 | align=center | - | align=center | ||
| 1989 | align=center | David Officer Mitsubishi Pajero | align=center | Steve Chapman Honda XR600 | align=center | - | align=center | ||
| 1990 | align=center | Kenjiro Shinozuka Mitsubishi Pajero | align=center | John Hederics Honda XR600 | align=center | - | align=center | ||
| 1991 | align=center | David Officer Mitsubishi Triton | align=center | John Hederics Honda XR600 | align=center | - | align=center | ||
| 1992 | align=center | Reg Owen Nissan Patrol | align=center | John Hederics Honda XR600 | align=center | - | align=center | ||
| 1993 | align=center | Ian Swan Nissan Patrol | align=center | Michael Goddard Kawasaki KLX 650R | align=center | - | align=center | ||
| 1994 | align=center | Jean-Pierre Fontenay Mitsubishi Pajero | align=center | John Hederics Honda XR600 | align=center | - | align=center | ||
| 1995 | align=center | Doug Manwaring Nissan Patrol | align=center | John Hederics Honda XR600 | align=center | - | align=center | ||
| 1996 | align=center | Bruce Garland Holden Jackaroo | align=center | John Hederics Honda XR600 | align=center | - | align=center | ||
| 1997 | align=center | Mikhail Naryshkin Mitsubishi Pajero | align=center | Andy Haydon KTM 640 LC4 | align=center | - | align=center | ||
| 1998 | align=center colspan=2 | Cancelled | align=center | - | align=center | ||||
| 1999 | align=center | Bruce Garland Holden Jackaroo | align=center | Stephen Greenfield Honda XR600 | align=center | - | align=center | ||
| 2000 | align=center | Bruce Garland Holden Jackaroo | align=center | Andy Caldecott KTM 660 | align=center | - | align=center | ||
| 2001 | align=center | Bruce Garland Holden Jackaroo | align=center | Andy Caldecott KTM 660 | align=center | - | align=center | ||
| 2002 | align=center | Bruce Garland Holden Jackaroo | align=center | Andy Caldecott KTM 660 | align=center | - | align=center | ||
| 2003 | align=center | John Hederics Nissan Patrol | align=center | Andy Caldecott KTM 660 | align=center | - | align=center | [6] | |
| 2004 | align=center | John Hederics Holden Rodeo | align=center | J Cunningham Honda XR650 | align=center | - | align=center | ||
| 2005 | align=center colspan=2 | Cancelled | align=center | - | align=center | [7] | |||
| 2006 | align=center colspan=2 | Cancelled | align=center | - | align=center | ||||
| 2007 | align=center | Hederics/Williams Holden Rodeo | align=center | Grabham Honda CRF450X | align=center | - | align=center | [8] | |
| 2008 | align=center | Riley/Doble Mitsubishi Pajero | align=center | Grabham Honda CRF450X | align=center | John Maragozidis Polaris Outlaw IRS | align=center | [9] | |
| 2009 | align=center | Riley/Doble Mitsubishi Pajero | align=center | Jacob Smith Honda CRF450X | align=center | Josef Machacek Yamaha Raptor 700R | align=center | [10] | |
| 2010 | align=center | Craig Lowndes/Kees Weel Holden Rodeo | align=center | Ben Grabham KTM 530 EXC | align=center | Paul Smith Honda TRX 700XX | align=center | [11] | |
| 2011 | align=center | Riley/Doble Mitsubishi Pajero | align=center | Todd Smith Honda CRF450X | align=center | John Maragozidis MMR Interceptor 850 | align=center | [12] | |
| 2012 | align=center | Hederics/Weel Holden Colorado | align=center | Jake Smith Honda CRF450X | align=center | Paul Smith Honda TRX700XX | align=center | [13] | |
| 2013 | align=center | Trigg/Olholm Toyota Hilux | align=center | Rodney Faggotter Yamaha WR450F | align=center | Heath Young KTM 690 Rally | align=center | [14] | |
| 2014 | align=center | McShane/Hayes Toyota Tacoma | align=center | Rodney Faggotter Yamaha WR450F | align=center | John Maragozidis MMR Interceptor 850 | align=center | [15] |