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. 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. 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. 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. ==Results==