Webmaster posted on April 29, 2009 15:47
Building up bike time leading up to the Australian Safari, KTM riders Matt Fish and David Schwarz entered the gruelling Yilgarn Rally in Southern Cross (WA), dominating the event on the KTM 530 EXC to take one and two respectively on the podium.
Speaking on behalf of KTM’s entry, David Schwarz comments, “The terrain in the Yilgarn Rally is varied just like the Australian Safari, and the KTM 530 EXC easily handled the conditions.
“The first stages were very similar to the Kalgoorlie stages of the Australian Safari, and in this event many of the competitors got lost or had mechanical challenges during the first 136 kilometre section. Matt Fish and I easily held our ground, we ended up gapping the rest of the field in the first stage by around 30 minutes.
“The second stage was a lot shorter at only 70kms, and Matt and I felt like we were the only two riders in the rally, even though there were 52 competitors entered. We got to the control point, and nobody was in sight so it was another comfortable win for KTM.
“We repeated the course of the first stage for the final run of the day, and by this time the course was pretty well marked out. Matt Fish pulled back time on me in the final stage which was enough for him to win, and although I’m not 100 percent certain of the final times, I’m confident it was only by a minute or two.”
Stay tuned to KTM safari and rally racing news at www.ktm.com.au