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Burford saddles up for sixth Safari campaign

Posted on September 16, 2011

Dave Burford during his 2009 Safari campaign.

SUNRAYSIA’s Dave Burford is preparing for his sixth Australasian Safari campaign which will pit him against some of the best desert/rally racers in the world over seven days and almost 4000 gruelling kilometres through the Western Australian outback.

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The affable 41-year-old has entered more Australasian Safaris than almost anyone in Sunraysia.

Only legendary competitors John Hederics and John ‘Yap’ Williams and Terry ‘Tangles’ Connor have started more events.

Riding as a privateer throughout those years, Burford is well aware of the dramatic ups and downs the Safari can put competitors through.

He said his first Safari was a very steep learning curve.

“I had no idea what I was doing,” he said this week before sending his bike and the majority of his equipment to Western Australia.

“You just learn by your mistakes. It was a pretty big shock the first day of my first event, not so much the riding but other things, like what to wear.

“It might sound silly but that can make a massive difference.

Burford explained that he and his team were camping outside on the night before the race was to start and it was snowing and freezing cold. And the temperature had barely risen by the time competitors got underway.

But he soon realised thermals and the rigours of man-handling a massive 640cc enduro bike don’t mix.

He soon began dehydrating due to the heat, even though he was drinking copious amounts of water.

“I ended up pretty dehydrated due to sweating all day and just couldn’t get enough fluid into me. And you don’t have time to pull over and change clothes in a race like this,” Burford said.

“I also pretty much just learned how to read maps and compete in the sport on-the-fly back then.

“It took me two or three days to correlate between the map and the terrain and learning when to turn and when to look to turn. It was just a big learning year.”

Unlike Auto drivers, who have navigators next to them reading out course notes and upcoming hazards, Moto competitors need to read directions on a map-holder mounted on their handlebars.

They also need to manually advance the map to keep up with their location, all the while racing up to 800 kilometres in a day over unfamiliar terrain.

Burford’s most successful Australasian Safari campaign was in 2009 when he paid for a ‘team’ ride, meaning the bike was pre-prepared and maintained by a professional team throughout the event.

The Mildura rider, who was joined by fellow Sunraysia rider Tim Vandenberg in the team, was running as high as 10th outright before tyre troubles forced him to the back of the field. Vandenberg ran as high as fourth and was well in contention for a podium
finish before mechanical problems also sent him to the back of the field.

Despite their problems, Burford climbed back up to 31st and Vandenberg 25th by the end of the race.

Throughout his years racing the Safari, the Mildura rider has learnt not to take anything for granted, even seemingly easy or hard stages.

“The funny thing with the Safari, and even this year, you might see days which have 800 kilometres, but really, if there’s a day of 300 or 400 kilometres, you’re probably a bit more wary about those shorter days because it’s probably going to be a lot harder, whereas an 800 kilometre day could be a lot of flat, fast stuff,” Burford said.

Last year’s event was the closest he came to disaster, t-boning a quad bike at high speed while trying to overtake.

The resulting crash, which happened when the quad bike rider sudden turned sharply in front of Burford, left the Mildura rider with a broken wrist and ligament damage to his knee.

Despite the dangers and hardship, Burford said there were several factors that kept him coming back year after year.

“I just love the fact that around every corner there’s a track you’ve never seen,” he explained.

“Good people there as well. Getting in and helping each other is great. A lot of competitors help each other out at the overnight stops

“I’ve also seen some amazing country. A lot of it is on stations and you wouldn’t get access to that country any other way.

“It’s a race that occupies your mind throughout the year. I don’t do any other races, just this one, but it wouldn’t be possible without the massive amount of support I get from my family, friends and sponsors, including Des Woodberry at Sunset Cycles.”

This year’s Australasian Safari reinforces the event’s status as a truly international competition, featuring racers from countries including Japan, Sweden, Czech Republic, South Africa, China, United States and Hungary.

It has also attracted three-time Dakar winner Cyril Despres this year among a host of internationally renowned competitors.

The event also commands a massive television audience each year, including more than 20 million viewers in the United States alone.

The Australasian Safari runs for seven days, from September 22 – 30, covering almost 4000 kilometres from Perth to Kalgoorlie.

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