An Iceland "Baja 1000"

[petesoffroad]

For my desktop background I have a pic I took in Iceland which fits brilliantly my idea of somewhere to go Off Road.

Looking at this gave me the idea that the most fantastic off road race could be organised in your country, something like the Baja 1000: an A to B race; no laps, just the one run, and preferably no recces and pace notes either. This nonsense has ruined off road racing elsewhere.

Iceland is brilliantly positioned half way between Europe and America to draw teams from both places. A major event such as this should bring in a heap of money for a country with only 300,000 people.
I realise the law there is that no driving should be done OFF the roads, but the actual roads in the interior are the sort of surfaces most racers would be expecting anyway.
In fact it's impossible for all but the first one or two in any real off road race to drive on un-made surfaces; the rest find they're on a track made by the front runners.
So your ash and gravel surfaces in the interior would be perfect. More, as the number of hard driven cars passing over them grows, these tracks will quickly deteriorate into surfaces much like one would find in pure off road conditions anyway.

Naturally this will mean a lot of expense to reinstate the tracks afterwards, which is what forest stage rallies have to deal with, and the entry fees have to take this into account.

I feel it is important to ensure that the conditions make it not possible to enter typical World Rally cars. Ground clearance requirements will have to make these cars ineligible, or the whole thing is immediately hijacked by the big money teams. This has to be a race for real OFF road racers, including the single seat 2wd cars which dominate in the USA. A lot of Europeans seem to think that if you don't have 4x4 you're some sort of pretend racer. They will get a shock when confronted with those cars.
I say this in support for my views on heavy and clumsy machines, which you are well aware of !

I can imagine that river crossings in the interior will be a major point of concern and support at the worst of these will be essential. Iceland though has many enthusiasts with vehicles perfectly suited to support roles here and I would hope the chance to be involved would appeal greatly.

Distance is an interesting question. The first thought is to make it as long and tough as possible, but then you're into Dakar type events, held over many days and with the whole circus inevitably having to move from place to place like a WRC event.
This is not really a race. As soon as you introduce stop/start situations it ceases to be a proper race, just another rally. This is what they get with long distance events in Australia too. They sound tough, but letting people stop, rest, eat, make repairs etc turns them into something different.

A start-drive-stop race is the only kind of event I would be interested in seeing, although there is absolutely no reason why some other organiser should not try to run a WRC or Dakar type event too.
Therefore it's probably realistic to emulate the Baja 1000: drive from A to B, non-stop if possible, as quick as you can.
This is the kind of event I always enjoyed when racing, though I never did anything so long, but it's what I'd like to see. 1000 km is probably also realistic for a first event. 1000 miles would be asking a lot more; perhaps that could come eventually, though whether it could be fitted into your roads network in the interior might be another question.

The long daylight hours in summer are a real bonus, meaning that a large number of entrants should be able to take part without running into darkness and it's extra hazards. I know the Baja runs part in the dark and the Americans may want that, but it must mean that some have more darkness than others to cope with; a bit unfair.

Of course there is the possibility of running an event in spring when everyone would have to drive a lot of the way on snow, as well as with some darkness, but I think to start with a summer event would be sensible.

So what do you say ? Would the people and government of Iceland buy such an idea, do you think ?

Peter Phillpotts

[Thrandur]

Thanks Peter!

I think this is definitely an idea to take further

It is something that must be discussed first within the community of 4 wheelers in Iceland and the world and then layed out for the officials here in Iceland. Can't see why this couldn't work out. There have been some ideas floating around of course but this could be the start of something big. Glad you brought it up.

At the current state of the economy in Iceland this would definitely bring in some much need foreign currency. It also is a good time to come to Iceland because the prices are low.

Iceland Baja 1000

iceland-baja-1000.jpg (68.44 KiB) Viewed 1612 times

Roads along the Icelandic highlands are ideal for doing something like this. Small obstacles and challenges could even be made to make the event more challenging and fun.

I agree that this has to be kept out of the reach of ordinary rally cars. There could also be divisions like: 4x4s, Motorcycles, Dune Buggies etc. This definitely takes a lot of organization and voluntary work by Icelandic 4 wheelers to insure safety.

Holding the race at around the middle of June means we have 24 hour daylight. A race that could be finished within that time frame and without rest sounds to me pretty unique and would draw attention. How does MIDNIGHT OFF ROAD CHALLENGE sound?

[Tomcat]

A Cross Country Rally is already "in the pipes". We (the Tomcat Iceland Team) have been preparing a Cross Country event wich is ready to start in 2009. ( Due to the finacial situation it may be postpond to 2010) The event is planned as an Cross Country Rally and will be run acording to FIA rules and requirements. So vehicles must comply to the FIA / LÍA regulations. Every thing is in fact ready to go, the rout is known, the tracks have been ploted and filmed (DVD) for the crews to make notes by. There are still some fine detales to be finished but all major problems solved. For more information take a look at this link http://icelandcrosscountry.blog.is/blog ... sscountry/ and feel free to contact us at info@tomcat.is

http://icelandcrosscountry.blog.is/blog ... sscountry/

Regards

Thorsteinn S McKinstry
Team Tomcat

[petesoffroad]

Congratulations to Team Tomcat for their initiative, but it's far from the event I suggested: a non-stop, one-lap straight out race.
I've lived in Europe long enough now to know what a stranglehold the FIA has on motorsport here and I know what I'm proposing is almost never seen here any more, but this is where the sport has it's roots: the Paris-Bordeaux races of a century ago, or the later Mille Miglia - even the famous New York-Paris event of exactly 100 years ago. Unlike them, this event has no need to pass through population centres, avoiding the risks they always incurred.

I believe there is still room for an event like this, whether run under FIA auspices or not. It's simple and crude, but very easy to follow. The need to get between two points in a shorter time than anyone else may seem too unsophisticated for many; they can stay away then.
Surely there must be others who would like to see what I propose ?

[Tomcat]

Hi Peter

All motorsport (on 4 wheels or more) events in Iceland must be regulated and under control of LÍA (the FIA ASN in Iceland) by law. This is in fact not a restricting factor but gives motorsport event organizers and compettitors certain rights by the Icelandic law. The only restricting factor I can think of when discussing a 1000 km long single stage event in Iceland vould be the islands geology. The fact that the island is only 500 km east to west and 300 km north to south dous set fisical limitation to the total length of a single stage. although I can already think og an stage that is longer than 1000 km. But it might involve risky fords to cross for motorbikes and quads and some cross country vehicle / jeeps (as SUV, light trucks are refered to in Iceland). But your idea might not involve quads and bikes? The longest single stage in the ICCR is 270 km and is driven through rough terrain that exhausts the crews and vehicles if travelled at a fast pace. In fact the organizers will most likely split this stage in three for practical and safety reasons. It is still one of the most difficault hi speed track you are likle to find. Its diversity alone makes it difficault on choosing tyres suspencion set up etc. Not to mention the strain on the crews.
The full Cross Country Rally vill take 5 days to compleat but the Baja ( a segment of the ICCR) will only take two days there of. There will be limitations on the number of competitors. The limiting factors being practical things like accomondation etc. The Baja and perhaps a one day sprint, is intended as a entry levell event for the small teams and locals who do not need accomondation and perhaps have tight budgets or are starting in motorsport.

Regards

Thorsteinn

[Thrandur]

Yeah - definitely two slightly different ideas here. Of course LÍA and FIA regulations must be followed.

Peter's idea would be less costly for contestants and also less costly overall and could take on more contestants.

Thorstein's idea would be a much bigger project and more a "rally" than a 4 wheeling event.

Would love to see more ideas flowing...

[petesoffroad]

At least we have established that such an event can legally be held in Iceland. The restrictions will not come from that source then, rather from the fact that the FIA has a monopoly on control. In most other areas of life for anyone to have a monopoly on something is thought to be undesireable, but recreation and sport seems to behave in a very detached manner as far as things like that go. There is rarely any recourse to independent adjudication; what controlling bodies say, GOES. Finish of argument.
In society at large there is nearly always some body to appeal to; our law works this way. Not in amateur organisations. Why ?

So I'm disappointed but hardly surprised to see that once again the FIA here also have, as I say, a stranglehold. Read the history of motorsport thoroughly to see why I have such a poor opinion of them. Or just look at Max Moseley's loony idea to make all F1 teams use the same engine, to get an idea of how little in touch they are. Or get a lawyer who understands motor vehicles to have a look at the Blue Book; it's full of inconsistencies and contradictions.
Any monopoly of power is bad news; for such a body to have it is worse.

I am fully in support of Thorstein's planned event and wish him and his team every success. There are many people who will enjoy it and this will please them no end, I'm sure. And any off road speed event is better than none at all !
Similarly, having promoted it through this forum he won't mind if I continue to press for my idea, I hope.

To say that he has a stage of 270 km which is so tough it has to be broken into three, as if this means a non-stop 1000km event would be impossible, rather overlooks the fact that in ALL sport people must set out knowing how long they have to keep going and pace themselves accordingly. Of course people can drive 1000km non-stop; but not the kind of people who just bang the right pedal to the floor and switch their brain off.

In fact this is my point of disagreement with Rallies: being in relatively short stages they encourage the more reckless and full throttle type of driver. The very long distance event, with preferably no pace notes, calls for the driver to read the road, know how to last the distance AND keep his car together as well. These skills are more closely related to those needed in everyday long distance driving and merit development and encouragement, I believe.
So I personally don't enjoy rallies, but I would never want to try to stop anyone else from doing so. Therefore I urge other enthusiasts to consider this idea. Why should we not be able to run either kind ?

[Chris Collard]

Hi Guys,
First post for me but not my first visit to 4x4OffRoads. I'm an off-road journalist and have covered events from Australia and Mexico, to South America and Africa. I am based in the U.S. but submit articles to about a dozen international 4x4 publications. If the "Midnight Off Road Challenge" comes to be, I'd be interested in covering the event. I have many pdf files of recent articles to verify my status as a writer/photographer, and the guys from Tomcat may remember me from the Moroccan Outback Challenge.
I look forward to hearing more about plans for what sounds like a fantastic event.

Cheers,
Chris

Chris Collard
Adventure Architects Photography
P.O. Box 1556
Rocklin, CA 95677, USA
Phone: 011-916-952-3630 e-mail: chris@adventurearchitects.com

[Tomcat]

Just posting a update on the subject of Iceland Cross Country Rally for those interested. Take a look at the information site http://www.iccrc.is for further details such as maps etc.

Regards

Thorsteinn
Tomcat Iceland