The Hindu Business Line : Gear up for an off-road thrill

The stage was set for one of the toughest 4x4 off-road events through the forests of Croatia. In spite of past tensions within this small yet spectacularly beautiful European nation, 36 competitors from over 12 different countries were ready to hit the dirt, proof that the tourists are flocking back to this land that lines the Adriatic Sea on its western horizons.

What started off as a prologue to the actual event saw a number of competitors sweating it out at various sections, a short stretch of six km putting on some healing Adriatic mudpacks on shiny paint work.

The opener was purely an appetiser for the actual stages, minus the dirt stages. One of the most interesting sections in this stage was a crater with a 200-metre literally vertical incline on one end which called for a high-revving engine with oodles of torque or a strong and quick winch to bail one out. A showery interlude spruced things up; the pile up at the bottom of the crater soon resembled a run down junkyard with vehicles strewn over randomly. Soon, there were few points of exit and even fewer points for anchoring tows and eventually competitors who made it out were seen offering those stuck an anchor point with their tow hooks.

The following day was no better. The road book handed out to the press often saw us right in the midst of all the action, at times intruding upon the competitors. The first intersection point was a steep hill climb. The competition format was simple; getting from point A to point B in the fastest possible time to come out on top of the leader board. What looked fairly simple turned out to be a free-for-all and like a herd of stampeding elephants the vehicles set off, soon covering the hill like an army of ants. The sound of engine and winching can rock you up. Winch lines were all over the place and getting the perfect shot was quite a challenge in itself. At such times there is a 100 per cent risk of the cables snapping and vehicles rolling over and though everyone was very aware of the consequences, a high state of alertness had settled in for survival.

Climbing the hill was an issue that did get settled one way or the other, getting back on the track and taking a 90-degree turn posed an entirely different set of problems, especially when one side of the track dropped into nothingness.

Mucha Robert, a competitor from Poland, was third in the row making good time from the bottom of the hill to the top. Unfortunately, he got stuck on the bend with his vehicle leaning down towards the valley. The only thing he could do to prevent plunging into oblivion was to secure his vehicle with a strap and winch cable. With his vehicle blocking the way and no alternative route in sight, it was soon left to the other competitors to rescue him so that the rest of the herd could follow.

The descent was far tougher than the ascent. Soon the descent turned haphazard and ungainly with everyone running amok yet again, getting stuck behind one another and creating logjams all over the place. In the cumulative frenzy tragedy struck Schwarz Frieder. His vehicle flipped and rolled over, resulting in his untimely demise. News of the catastrophe soon spread like wildfire through the camp and, within seconds, the boisterous uproar of activity subsided into a stunned silence. Though one oft expects and accepts the realities of such a sport, it is so rare that one actually comes face to face with this reality.

Late in the evening, the participants gathered together and after hurried discussions it was decided not to carry on with the competition.

The next morning, however Igor Bozikovic — organiser and founder of the Croatia Trophy — called everybody to a short meeting in which he explained the consequences of what would happen if they left the event. "Definitely that would be the end of the trophy forever. Who will come forward to support the event, which as we have seen yesterday can be brought to a halt within a few minutes of its start?" he asked. His speech improved the spirits of the participants and they promised to stay on course. However, contestants from Poland and the Netherlands were unable to come to terms with the tragedy and despite repeated requests refused to stay on. So that left us with only 25 teams.

The next afternoon everyone headed towards Vojnic, our next camp for the following two days. Stage one was a gravel path leading into the forest and opening out to a wide valley where a creek meandered through muddy meadows. All the competitors had to cross a gully full of water. To check its depth, most of the navigators had to dive into the water. ATV riders employed the state-of-the-art technique of using air balloons to float their machines across the creek. It was an action-packed day, with a lot of water, mud and breakdowns thrown in.

Then came the day of the trophy. Four teams of different nationalities were assigned to work together in a sort of obstacle course that involved interesting exercises such as battling through mud and constructing a flying bridge from winch cables. The next stage was the longest covering a total distance of 90 km. The route ran through forests, hills, valleys, fields, streams, meadows and everybody's favourite — slush and mud.

The last day presented the toughest challenges — climbing down at an angle of more than 75 degrees into a canyon and then crawling in foot deep mud, before picking through rocks and logs. Kovac Jadranko, a Croatian competitor broke his rear axle and was forced to carry on with just two wheels.

The first hurdle was a rocky climb with the rocks forming steps to climb over. After that, the participants had to reach the hilltop on the ridge by a near vertical ascent. A two-wheel drive Defender could not make the climb and rolled over in the middle to plunge straight to the bottom. Surprisingly there was no major damage done. Then it was time for a night stage, which started at midnight. The course was the toughest on two counts — first it was pitch dark and second, the terrain was the one used only by hikers. In the beginning, six to seven cars stuck together, since the low visibility made it difficult to proceed all by oneself. Said Kohler Rene, one of the participants, "It took us four hours to cross, it was cold and we were feeling sleepy." Everybody was literally counting the metres to the end of this stage. By 5 a.m., the contestants reached the town of Topusko and were served stimulating cups of hot coffee and Indian black tea.

After 10 days in the jungle, the competitors gratefully sunk into their beds and woke up later in the evening to a gala dinner and the prize distribution ceremony. But celebrations remained low-key given the tragedy. Van Der Velde Simon and his navigator Arends Peter from the Netherlands won the overall trophy earning Euro 1,000 and a Ramsey Winch. A specially created trophy — the Golden Hammer — was awarded to the Israelis for maximum repairs and damage in the event. Peter Segers and Alex Van Den Bergh from Belgium on their Willys Jeep won the Fair Play Award, a wireless remote control winch from Ramsey.

Picture by the author

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