When you say Suzuki, you think Grand Vitara, going out on the weekend to the family home which is on a road that's slightly rough, or a barbecue in the forest. But among the few off road lovers, a Suzuki, be it a Samurai, a Vitara or a Jimny is a treasure if modified and cared for properly. This is what Suzuki owners in Romania learned throughout time, helped by proper suspension kits, winches and body protections. It was only natural as well as reasonable, the next step was to hold a Festival to cherish their off road treasures.
A lot of time was spent by the organizing team up on the mountain , planning and trekking to create the best possible experience for the participants. Finally, the weekend was closing in and the Romanian off road forum was boiling with anxiety for what was in store for the Festival.
Thursday evening found the 29 cars and their respective inhabitants checking in to the hotel from where, Friday morning, the course was to start. The brief period of the first day served as socializing time for the drivers who came from all over the country with their cars, modified or not, as well as for signing up for the official track and the technical briefing.
The following morning all the cars started their engines, queuing up for the first day of actual off road. It was a general opinion that the first day was more warming up than proper off roading but the following two days were sure to make up for the ease that everyone felt in the morning as the cars made it through without too much of a hassle.
Saturday morning the contestants started towards their designated trial zones, open on one track and extreme on a separate, more difficult and spectacular one. With all this in mind, the mud covered all the cars, making them unrecognizable, and like every time, a few of the cars fell prey to technical difficulties and had to stop for repairs or call it a day.
Everyone pushed their cars as much as possible through the well organized track, comprising of axle twisters and mud baths, providing all the excitement from the previous day but everything finishing through a deep ravine, down on a see-saw made of logs and into a grand pool of mud where, if the contestants didn't have the chance to experience too much mud, the issue was solved.
The evening had been anxiously awaited, as was the Award Ceremony. Every one of the participants left home with a feeling of happiness from a weekend spent in the company of friends and a number of stories to tell home.
Photos courtesy of the Suzuki Festival Team
