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| CT06 Convoy Plate ready for the next adventure |
#10LRP The next adventure begins, work has taken place to prepare the Land Rover 110 Camel Trophy Defender for display in Les Comes, Suria Spain.
All the mechanical checks have been done and its been given a pep talk to make sure it gets there and back! All that needs doing is the locating of the convoy plate, for each Camel Trophy event there were convoy plates issued to identify each vehicle, for the Spanish event there were fifteen individual plates issued with all others being designated CT16, our plate as can be seen above is CT06
We will be driving down through France and across the Pyrenees into Spain leaving on Wednesday and arriving late on Thursday, then attending the event over the weekend and returning the same way arriving back in the UK the following Wednesday.We are off to Les Comes in Southern Spain as the event celebrates its tenth anniversary on October 1st & 2nd, at Les Comes, a spectacular tenth century Catalan estate with over 500 hectares of land and 60 km of 4×4 tracks. Les Comes is like a 4×4 ski slope, a place where you can drive off road in a range of technical levels. The links between Les Comes and Camel Trophy have existed for more than 20 years. In 1989 Les Comes, began organising and hosting the selections and training of different teams in the Camel Trophy, including the Spanish team, but also, Les Comes helped organise the final competition that selected the lucky ones that were to participate the great adventure.
THE CAMEL TROPHY AND LAND ROVER
The Camel Trophy represented a perfect opportunity to demonstrate the capabilities of Land Rover models, especially the qualities concerning safety and manoeuvrability in difficult situations. The Camel Trophy also gave an exclusive character to Land Rover vehicles: being chosen for the adventure of the twentieth century, associating their owners with a type of people that love the challenge, the adventure and nature. Interesting people, visiting interesting places through reliable and safe vehicles.
HISTORY OF THE CAMEL TROPHY
The Camel Trophy, was born in 1980 and was a test of off-road vehicles whose objective was to make an annual expedition in a remote areas of the planet, usually under extreme conditions in which it would test men and machines.
Its precedent was called Trans-Amazonica and was held in Brazil in June 1980. Jeep vehicles began this adventure but no vehicle finished the planned route. The goal of each edition was to cover 1,000 miles or 1,600 km, which served its slogan “1000 miles of adventure”, but the objective was not always achieved.
From 1981 all participating vehicles were Land Rover, which served the brand to magnify their vehicles and it was the perfect setting for promoting the legendary models of the time, from the Range Rover in 1982, through the Series III, 90s and 110s, Discoverys and finally the Land Rover Freelander in 1998 in the last participation.
Every year, thousands of people aspired to participate in the event, selection tests took place which would leave four finalists for each participating country. The only requirements for participation were to be 21 years old, be physically fit and speak English.
The four finalists from each country were then invited to take part in the international final selections (usually at Eastnor Castle – England), where they spent a week of intense physical and mental exercise, led by a team of expert advisers which decided which 2 participants would take part in the Camel Trophy event.
Each year the expedition tried to take a new route. It was not enough to just finish the route, the organisers of the Camel Trophy thought it was a good idea to travel the routes during the monsoon and rainy season. As an example, during the 1985 event in Borneo there were days that participants could only advance about 5 kms each day.
The Land Rover vehicles used were prepared with different enhancements in each model. Some of the changes included under-body protection, superior roof racks, additional front lighting, towbars, rollbars, winch, snorkel, ladders, metal plates, rope, an axe and shovel, jerry cans.
Winning the Camel Trophy was the goal of most teams, but the most prestigious award was called the “Team Spirit Award” a prize awarded by a vote from all the other teams, for those who demonstrated the true essence of Camel Trophy.
The end of the participation of Land Rover in the Camel Trophy was in 1998 due to the changes in the event, which gave more importance to the physical fitness of the participants with sports as cycling, canoeing and skiing that driving 4×4.
In 1999 there was no event and in 2000 (the last race of Camel Trophy) they radically changed the concept of the event, it was carried out in a marine environment with boats and lost all contact with the world of 4×4. At this point, without the spirit Land Rover, the Camel Trophy had no reason to be and never returned again. , the spirit of Land Rover and the Camel Trophy is still alive thanks to a small group of enthusiasts who still today, enjoy the vehicles that have in their DNA the spirit of the Camel Trophy.
Follow this blog for updates on how our trip is progressing.
Adios Amigos
