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Downhill Demons

12.05.2006

Stage 3 - Day 19; It was in a little village called La Higuera that the famous revolutionary, Che Guevara was finally captured and executed. And it was in this same little village that France’s Jean-Baptiste Calais and his team partner, Costa Rica’s Claribett Vega, considerably increased their points tally in Stage 3 of the Land Rover G4 Challenge.

‘We were the only teams to visit the location, I think,’ said the Frenchman. ‘But we didn’t visit it for any nostalgic reasons. I like Che and all he stood for, but for us it was just another competition location.’

Since they were the only team to visit La Higuera, they earned maximum points at the location in a day marked by long distance driving, tough competitions and the final chance to score points as a team before the end of the Stage. But the driving conditions and vast distances proved to be the undoing of some teams. ‘We only managed to score at three locations today, where most other teams managed four,’ said South Africa’s Martin Dreyer. ‘This was one of the worst days so far on the Challenge for me.’

Other teams were more upbeat, having not only visited more locations, but also stopping to enjoy more of the scenery. ‘This place is so beautiful. Every time you come around a bend in the road, the scenery changes,’ said Claribett Vega, ‘it is always breathtaking and never predictable.’

She did, however, point out that the heat of Laos is sorely missed in the high Bolivian mountains. ‘It was so cold last night,’ she continued. ‘We had ice on our tent in the morning, and it was absolutely freezing during the night.’

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