Land Rover G4 Challenge
Choose your Partners
Rob Howard / 24.04.2006
The last time they had all met was at the International Selections in the UK in February, where close bonds were established over a week of activity in freezing temperatures, a stark contrast to the blistering heat of Bangkok.
That week of camping out and competing together meant the pre-event gathering in Thailand was an emotional reunion of old friends, and it also determined the order in which the all important partner selection for Stage 1 took place. (The 8 lowest ranked from the selections chose a partner from the top 10.)
While they were competing for their place at the international selections all the competitors will have kept on eye on their rivals, and at the start of G4 will have an idea of their strengths, as both competitors and partners. For each stage competitors will choose, or be chosen as, a partner and will then work together with that partner to achieve the best result, all the time knowing that in the final analysis their partner will be a competitor. Strategy, teamwork and sound judgment of character are as much a part of the challenge as physical and driving skill.
Australian Competitor’s Last Minute Heartbreak
Sadly, there was on change to the line up on stage for this first part of G4, after the late withdrawal of Tom Landon-Smith. The Australian Race Director and member of Team AROC arrived with a stitched foot injury sustained while running on the beach at home and was ruled out of competition by the medical director Mike Irani. “He is obviously bitterly disappointed,� explained the surgeon, “but the decision is not only for his own health and safety, but also that of his fellow competitors.�
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