The common themes of Camel Trophy continued: mud, makeshift bridges, mud, raging river crossings, mud, quicksand, and mud. The journey began in Mount Hagen, a mining settlement in the middle of the country, and proceeded through the highlands of the country. It was a new venture for Camel Trophy, with new guidelines in place like 'keep driving if you hit a pig the locals value them so much that they will kill you in vindication.' The target this year was Papua New Guinea, an island nation north of Australia that has some of the world's most remote tribes, their culture almost entirely untouched by the rest of the world. The teams numbered eight in total - two from each nation. Winners: Cesare Geraudo & Giuliaro Giongol (Italy)ġ982 brought the first international Camel Trophy, with the West Germans joined by Dutch, Italian, and American teams. The Olympics of Four-Wheel-Drive were hatched. The seed was hatched.far from being just a German marketing event, Camel Trophy seemed to have potential as an international competition. It had been a long, hard slog through the jungle, but it had also been an epic event. The expedition ended in the town of Jambi, in the south of Sumatra.

At one point they had to rescue a bus stuck in the mud, using three Rangies tied to it. The event was marked by extreme heat, sloppy mud, massive river crossings, makeshift bridges, huge quagmires, and lots and lots of mosquitoes. Almost immediately, the convoy was held up by bureaucracy, with the only solution after hours of holdup was an economic contribution from the Camel Trophy to the regional government. They began the 1,000-mile southward trek in the village of Berastagi in North Sumatra. This year, Camel Trophy headed to Sumatra, the island of Indonesia across the Straits of Malacca from Malaysia and Singapore. It was the beginning of a beautiful partnership. They found their partner in Land Rover, who supplied them with brand-new two-door Range Rovers, all with the V8 power to slog through mud with great abandon. After the battering the Jeeps took in Brazil, the organizers turned to find a more suitable manufacturer - and if the story was true, not use rental cars. It still featured only West German teams, but now there were five teams of two - eight men and two women overall. Winners: Christian Swoboda & Knuth Mentel (West Germany)įollowing on the unexpected success of Camel Trophy 1980, the event was expanded in its second year. They returned home with the beginnings of a new event: a globetrotting international 4x4 competition, which would become known as the 'Olympics of Four-Wheel-Drive.' Camel Trophy 1981: Sumatra The six Germans made it to Santarem intact, though the Jeeps less so, with two of them badly worn out and one of them having actually burned down along the way. Sometimes they'd hit bureaucratic roadblocks alongside the natural roadblocks, though at least a corrupt policeman could be persuaded with a few packs of cigarettes (presumably, Camels). Sometimes the jungle reclaimed the road, and they'd have to hack them away with machetes. The journey was a gruelling twelve days, with the three tiny Jeeps slogging through mud, sand, heat, and humidity. They traced the Trans-Amazon Highway, a half-completed route mired as much in politics as it was in mud. The teams set off from Belem near the Brazilian coast, and over twelve days, travelled the jungles of the Amazon Rainforest to Santarem, an inland city on the Amazon River. The story goes that they were rented from the local Hertz outlet in Belem, though that may be an apocryphal story. It involved three German teams, piloting Ford U50s - a license-built Jeep made locally in Brazil. Trucks: Ford U50 (locally-built Jeep CJ5s)Ĭamel Trophy 1980 was nothing near as organized as those events that would follow. Winners: Klaus Karttna-Dircks & Uwe Machel (West Germany) It didn't even start as an international competition.

The story doesn't actually begin with Land Rovers (and it won't end with them, either). Check out the rest of our History of Camel Trophy series:Ĭamel Trophy began in 1980, as a marketing gimmick from Camel cigarettes.

Camel stuck in quicksand