Land Rover G4 Challenge
Fireworks at the Start
24.04.2006
In record temperatures on a baking hard but beautiful arena set up in the heart of Bangkok – the gateway to Southeast Asia - the 18 competitors in the Land Rover G4 Challenge got their first taste of competition with a punishing but rewarding start event in Sanam Luang Park.
At a gala banquet on Saturday night, the 18 individual competitors had paired up, with the top scorers from International Selections being picked by the rest of the crew. The start event was the first test of these pairings, which will remain for the first week of the month-long event.
A separate ballot saw the nine pairs draw for three heats of the clever but hellishly physical demands of the opening competition; where the teams had to mountain bike the length of the 150 metre course and then drag their Range Rover Sport from its shipping container. One team member had to then pull a kayak on wires high above the ground to a Thai-style hut from where he or she then guided their partner across a set of narrow logs in the Range Rover Sport. The most physical part of the test was to then hand-winch a 600kg Tuk Tuk (three wheel Bangkok taxi) up off the ground.
The second half of the competition was to drive over axle-articulating metal beams, stop whilst one wheel sat suspended high in the air and then drive the Range Rover Sport onto a giant Thai ox cart – pushing it along for 30 metres before driving the vehicle off again. Finally, the pairs had to run back to the hut - both shin up the framework of the huts and release a firework to signal the end!
SleepMonsters
