By now everyone knows the hit show One car too far on the documentary channel.
Those two guys take everything about off road and make it easy to be understood and
put into practice, dealing with real life situations that the regular off roader would
encounter.
The show features former British Special Forces soldier Gary Humphrey
as survival specialist/all around idea man and Southern California-based car fanatic and problem solver Bill Wu. Together they take it on.
Now, to make things interesting, they organized a trial race exactly for the everyday
mud lover, near Buzau. Organized and directed by Offroad Bucovina, the Discovery
Off Road Trial was a one day event aimed at showing off Bill and Garys skills, but
also challenging the abilities of the participants.
30 trucks and SUVs lined up to have their cars checked, tested and raced by the
famous adventurers, but also to take part in the no-entry-fee race, where the top prize
was a Garmin 62S, followed by a 13.000 lbs winch and a Suunto Adventure watch.
We were very happy to see how much passion the Romanians have for cars and the
off road life! We exchanged experiences with the drivers who entered in the race and
befriended the entire community. Most of them are very good drivers, with a natural
talent and lust for adventure. The organizers, Rasty Petzalis and Florin Radu, are true
professionals and I can say it was an honor working with them. We want to thank
everyone for the warmth that we felt on their behalf and for letting us borrow their
cars and do our thing with them
After a demonstration from the masters, the competitors were invited to participate
in the small trial and try for the fastest time on course. Of the 30 vehicles, the overall
winner was also the smallest vehicle that signed up, a Subaru driven by Laszlo
Csernatony, with an overall time of 1 minute 9 seconds. The compact size of the car
and low center of gravity gave it a clear advantage in sharp turns and on side slopes,
over the bigger, heavier and far better prepared extreme class trucks. This goes to
show once more that size isnt everything in off road and that the best vehicle you can
have is the one youre comfortable with.
Between the two stages of the competition, the public had the chance to see technical
demonstrations of extreme off road and rock crawling skills by some of the countrys
most talented pilots. They proved that the laws of physics could be tricked with a
talented driver and properly equipped tough truck.
In the end, prizes and diplomas were handed out, as well as autographs from the
two famous adventurers. "We felt so good here that we don't really want to leave
Romania" said Gary, expert survivalist.
What are Offroad Trials? When it comes to off-road driving, there are so many different ways to challenge yourself and your truck. The off-road and extreme 4x4 events held every year provide an organized way to experience the thrill of hardcore driving, but sometimes there's nothing like a simple ride with only you, your 4x4 and the great unknown out in front of you.
