Summer represents a lot of things for a lot of people. But for Eastern European motorsport lovers, summer brings with it one of the most difficult all class competitions available. Since its become a tradition already, the Castrol Extreme Adventure (previously known as the Romanian Extreme Adventure) takes place in the most Eastern part of the Carpathian Mountains, in the Romanian county of Buzau.
The competition doubles as an international event (with competitors coming from as far away as the UK) as well as a stage in the National Off Road Championship therefore the race complies to the strictest comfort and safety requirements imposed by the Romanian National Motorsport Federation. The trophy is already at its 5th edition, gathering more and more fans who come to compete, relax and enjoy 7 days of some of the most spectacular and difficult terrain available in Europe.
The competition saw dozens of adventurers from 8 separate classes (Auto Hobby, Auto Extreme, Moto Hobby, Moto Extreme, Moto Open, Moto Old Boys, ATV and Side-by-Sides) competing for a chance of winning the first place in their respective classes.
The races first day started off on the wrong foot because of the rain. The Prologue, which would decide the starting order, was cancelled due to heavy rains. As a result of this, the starting order was that of the vehicles numbers. The first track day presented the competitors with 120 kilometers of challenging terrain, with rally raid style plains , mud, rivers and winching to go along for the ride. This track was thought up so that the spectators would also be able to see sections, particularly in the first half where the racers came in and out of the wilderness, close to civilization.
The Moto Extreme Class section saw the best two drivers detaching themselves from the rest of the crowd, with a slightly unexpected result. Mani Gyenes, the favorite for the class prize, was followed by Marton Szilveszter who, although only 19, has already marked down a victory in this particularly difficult track. Meanwhile, the Auto Extreme track managed to pose a serious problem to one of the teams who rolled over on the side of the Buzau river. With the aid of the organizers and spectators, the race truck was put back on its four wheels. The difficult first day was stopped, close to its end (with teams as close as one hour away from the finish line) due to fear of being thunderstruck.
The exhaustion determined many of the competitors to ask the staff to move the relaxation day from the third to the second. However, with modifications to the length of the track, the race followed its natural course, with a light second day for the competitors followed by the well deserved free day for fixing the trucks and recovering broken ones from the mountains.
After everyone managed to gather their strength to start again, the days track offered excellent views and challenges for the Moto Extreme class, who had to climb up to 1700 meters, close to one of the most famous mountain peaks in the region. The Auto class provided the days great disappointment when the Gigi Gavrila/Tiberiu Stan team were forced to abandon the competition after they rolled over, with Mr. Gavrila being suspected of a broken clavicle.
Changing the roadbooks system, the forth day brought with it an interesting and challenging adaptation. The Auto class had to follow a track that wasnt on any map, but rather make their way as best they could with the aid of the compass and azimuth readings. To be more precise, the main points were the same but, depending on the navigators skill and ability to manage the map, the days race varied from easy to extremely difficult. One of the most impressive finishes of the day was that of a 17-year-old driver who, although not officially allowed to drive on public roads, managed to finish on the forth place, proving that he would be one of the racers on the podium for the 2011 edition.
The last day in the mountains proved to be a real show stopper a difficult special stage that posed no issues for the Moto class but created an entire series of challenges for the Auto one. A rollover of the occupants of the third place in the Auto Extreme class nearly took them out of the race, while the occupant of the first place proved once more that the G Klasse is an excellent off road vehicle through not needing the winch for the entire stage. The Open class podium saw a historic car make its way towards the winning spot a 1964 IMS (the only Romanian production car to be featured in collectors catalogues) took the third place in front of a whole bunch of serious off road prepared vehicles, far younger than the winning old timer.
This last week of extreme racing proved to be one of the greatest of the year, with unique scenery, tough weather but also adventure and off road fair-
Radu Tudoroiu
Radu Tudoroiu is a photographer and an editor for 4x4 Off Roads and other publications as well as an off-road enthusiast. Radu lives in Romania.
