Lowndes leads, Weel out of Aust Safari after leg 2

The Weels were joined on the retirement list by Tony Quinn and Toni Feaver, who blew the engine in their Mitsubishi Pajero on the previous day's first leg. After being towed into service late on leg 1, the damage was deemed irreperable and the duo had to withdraw.

The Victorian pair of Darren Green and Wayne Smith joined the retirement list after rolling their Nissan Patrol and blowing the engine on leg 2's opening stage.

With the Weel's Holden Colorado too far gone to continue, the sister car of Craig Lowndes and John Panozzo has been left to fly the PWR flag.

After recording the fastest time on leg 1, Lowndes/Panozzo were again the quickest on leg 2. The 'trans Tasman' pairing of Queensland's Geoff Ohlholm and New Zealand's Brent Twaddle have been the quiet achievers so far. They finished leg 2 in second behind Lowndes/Panozzo, with Steve Riley and John Doble third.

At the end of leg 2, Lowndes/Panozzo hold a 13 minute lead in the overall standings over Riley/Doble, with Conner/Conner a further 20 minutes behind. The Conners, Terry and Jodi, did well to hold onto third after battling with only two-wheel drive for half of the leg. Ohlholm/Twaddle sit in fourth overall.

Rob Herridge and Tim Batten's Subaru Forester recovered from rear suspension problems that saw them finish outside the control time for leg 1, but they are still in the race.

Event Director Justin Hunt said it was really disappointing to see forced withdrawals so early in the event, and he felt for the teams involved.
"These crews must be so disappointed after putting so much time and effort into getting here and we appreciate their commitment."