Dacia Duster - Beyond The Limits

 

A little while back, we had an exclusive test drive with the brainchild of the Dacia-Renault merger. The neat looking Dacia Duster SUV impressed us through its robust feel, the power of the small engine on the particularly light body as well as it's comfort.

We expected great things for the newest apparition in the SUV scene but when the Romanian-French constructor decided to assign a team of cars to participate in the difficult Transylvania Adventure Trophy we had to see it for ourselves and bring you the exclusive expose of one of the most daring off road teams in the competition.

 

Like we had the chance to observe in the previous Dacia Duster article, the Duster managed to cunningly disguise all it's superb off road abilities under an innocently designed exterior. The factory team was probably picked to fit the same pattern, considering their age and calm looks. Throughout the race, everyone understood that the classic "don't judge a book by its cover" proverb applied more than once in this context. The newest Hobby class team handled themselves in a great way, driving the small Dusters alongside die-hard off road trucks like Toyota 70s or Defenders.

Lucky enough, I had the chance to see the Dacias in action on one of the Transylvania Trophy hotspots where deep mud, a difficult descent and a particularly strange and difficult ravine did wonders on cars' body parts. However, the small ultra-light Dusters had no problems although the winch had to be used every now and again - thinking now of the powerful WARN winch that the cars were equipped with, it came as no surprise that the winching process was an easy task. Right after the Dusters passed, followed by a Finnish team, the deep mud posed extreme problems for the rest of the competitors. Two burned winches on a tray back G Wagon and on a Toyota HDJ 80 clogged the only two passages where competitors could pass so alternative and more difficult routes had to be found. And now, because there is only so much a reporter can do, we asked the copilot of one of the cars, Mr. Marian Marin, to tell us a little more about the problems and adventure they encountered during this one week competition.

Firstly could you tell us what exactly was your involvement in the race and your prior experiences in the field?

My role in the team was that of copilot for the first car, together with Ioana Ionita (copilot on the Duster 80B). Our job was to insure the best possible navigation in every day of the race, using the roadbooks and compass while also helping guide the Duster driven by Remy Couturier towards the best traction sports, avoiding dangers as much as we could. Apart from being the second pair of eyes, I also ran around with the winch and warned my pilot of obstacles. I would say "a small role in a great big team".
I understand that everyone in the team was actually a part of the team who actually designed the model.

Was this an important aspect in choosing the people to come?

The best example I can come up with is my own. I was selected through an open competition, available to all RTR (Renault Technologie Roumanie) and Dacia employees, where over 160 candidates signed up. Finally, there were 18 candidates selected and, out of those, the 5 of us (with Andreea Iancu as back up copilot) that participated in the TAT. Everyone had equal chances to get in it's true, but we were part of the team that oversaw the Duster project from inception to it's final stages and, as part of the race, we were required to observe the car's behavior over this one week race period.

How were you guys chosen? I was told all of you had to have a good sporty side, be it cycling, climbing or whatever else. How did that go?

A very important aspect, which every member of the Duster team had to possess, was good sporting abilities. Since the TAT is an endurance competition, being fit was a very important element in choosing the team. But being fit wasn't everything, each of the members had to have a good psychological condition, in order to cope with the extreme strain and concentration required by the race. It's very true that all members of this year's Dacia Duster team were very good athletes, with Ioana being the national ice climbing champion, myself with 275 kilometer mountain bike marathons and last but not least Remy who is a big fan of mountain climbing.

I understand this was your first race ever. It's a pretty tall order for even the experienced off roaders and I understand you heard the stories about the race. Who in the team had good driving knowledge or was skilled in navigation?

The Transylvania Adventure Trophy was our first time ever participation, as a team as well as individual, to any off road event. The trophy's fierce reputation as being the toughest on the continent determined us to train better, faster and harder in order to put on a good show, cope with the mountains everyday as well as successfully represent the Dacia Duster product in a high-profile event. Both pilots, Mircea and Remy gathered plenty of off road experience along the way, especially since Mircea tested the Duster extensively while being one of Dacia's test drivers. Navigation wise, Ioana's experience, combined with my own, helped us overcome a lot of obstacles and we managed to perfect our orientation skills during this past week. My job here, to some extent, was similar to what I have been doing for years on end on the boy scouts, managing any kinds of situation. The guys in the team kept joking around, calling me "indian nose" ... now I'm not quite sure if I got the nickname because of the shape of my nose, or because of my mastering the art of finding the right track.

How did you prepare before the race?

Any preparations for racing is important. I managed to understand that from my previous experiences in biking and sports orientation. For this particular event, we had a crash course in everything from driving to navigation, to winching, to roadbooks. Everything was compacted in two month's training. We has very little time to actually understand the off road driving and the symbiosis between pilot and copilot, before we were put face to face with the real deal.

What were your goals as a team?

For us, the most important thing was to finish the race as well as possible, considering that the car was 95% streetwise as well as to try and work well as a team, which helped smooth the difficulty of the tracks a lot. One of our main objectives was of course to demonstrate that the Duster is a cat that's worthy of the SUV name and that's above all expectations. For us all, this was a very personal thing. We all chipped in, we all put our little mark on the car's building process so it's safe to assume that a great part of our success was due to our unconditional and unlimited implication towards the success of this project.

What were the biggest problems you had to overcome in the race?

I guess the biggest challenge we had to face was the lack of experience. We were a completely new team with no other similar preoccupations of this sort before the race. Each passing day made it's mark on our experience levels and, with each day's track we managed to gather more and more experience and develop trust in our Dusters, to compensate for this little experience problem.

Was the competition everything you trained for? Were the tracks what you expected?

I don't think there's training enough to prepare you for these kind of competitions, let alone for the TAT especially since the guys putting the race together work hard at surprising you each year. The difference is that, however unprepared we were, each member of the staff team put their all into the project so as to help the Duster get a good start in the off road scene. There's good quote which goes "Traveler, there's no road. You make the road by walking" and I think that this is how the Duster entered the off road world.

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I imagine it was a great experience and an exquisite team building activity. What are the plans for the future? Are you planning on participating later on?

It's true that this was undoubtedly one of the most beautiful experiences that I've been a part of and which, in the end, managed to get together a great group of people. I must sincerely thank RTR for giving us the chance to fulfill a long time dream of mine - to be part of the Duster Team. With regards to my participation in future events ... it's quite clear that off road is now in our blood and that I really want to participate in other competitions of the sort but we must all keep in mind that they require a great idea of resources so I guess I must keep these only as plans for now. I am currently dreaming of the day when I'll get my own Duster, off road equipped of course, and we'll see eachother at another TAT.

Is there anything else you would like to share with our readers?

There's a lot to share from this experience. I would like to think that all of your readers will at some point have the joy of participating in something of the sorts. Come to think of it, this isn't just about the race. It can be just about a relaxing drive in the nature with man's best modern friend, the automobile. Perhaps some of your readers are like me ... three months ago I had no idea about this world and thought that something of this kind was close to impossible. Now I can stand here and sincerely say that nothing is impossible and, as the TAT Duster Team slogan goes "Duster 4x4 Everyone", everything is possible. Why not with a Dacia Duster?