Raiders at the Wilderness ARC

Rob Howard / 10.05.2006

In a few weeks time Fort William, the Outdoor Capital of the UK, will play host to the second Wilderness ARC; the 3rd World Series race of the year and the 2006 British Championship.

This year there will be a mini-raid on the streets of the town to start the festivities and a Viking raid on the main event by an experienced Swedish team looking to win a place in the World Championships in their home country in August.

The new open race on Saturday night, known as ’Raiders of the Wilderness ARC, is for adventure sports enthusiasts in the local area, of which there are many, and for visitors to the town – of which there are thousands. The same weekend the Mountain Biking World Cup is taking place, and there is also a major sailing event – Fort William is not called the ‘Outdoor Capital’ for nothing! There will also be live bands and a street party in the centre of the town, so it’s going to be a lively night of entertainment for competitors, friends and families.

‘Raiders’ is described as “a swashbuckling 2 hour quest for the Holy Grail of Fort William” and will give everyone in the town the chance to try adventure racing and be a part of the opening activities of the Wilderness ARC. It’s open to ages 14 and above and the race prologue will be taking place at the same time, so those who give it a go will be racing alongside top international teams.

The main event starts on Monday and this will be a quest for World Championship places and the British title. The team line up has now been announced and there are 18 teams taking part, including visiting international teams from Italy and Sweden.

Last year’s winners Aberdeen Asset Management are back to defend their title, but with a changed team. Nick Gracie and Warren Bates return with two of the UK’s most experienced racers, Tom Gibbs and Helen Jackson, who both previously raced in the Saab Salomon squad. They will have some strong competition for their British Championship title from teams Accelerate, Superfeet and Total-adventure.co.uk and all the UK teams will be looking at the Swedish team P.S. Communications as their main rivals for the WARC title and the prize of a free place in the World Championships.