Sunday 6 November will witness the first event of a new type of extreme motorsport – Rock-crawling!
Rock-crawling was conceived quite a few years ago in Moab, Utah in the USA where American adrenaline-junkies pointed their highly modified four wheel drive vehicles at some of the largest and most terrifying obstacles known to man and tried, with varying degrees of success, to conquer them.
Many people have received an email with a video clip showing a Chevrolet Blazer careering down a huge hunk of rock several hundred metres high at breakneck speed and overturning at the bottom. That same rock is called the Lion’s Back and is the Holy Grail for hardcore rock-crawlers.
The Malta Independent Rock-Crawling Challenge, powered by 89.7 Bay, promises to be a one-of-a-kind offroading event, the likes of which has never been seen on our shores before. The organisers are planning a full day of action-packed offroading in which hard work, stamina, teamwork, vehicle durability and fearlessness will be pushed to the ultimate limits and, possibly, beyond!
A number of sites have been chosen specifically for this challenge. The organising team had one criterion in mind – to choose sites with the biggest and most evilly-placed boulders that this island has to offer.
Each team, consisting of a specially-prepared four wheel drive, vehicle, together with its driver and co-driver will have to drive through a prepared course in each of these sites in the least possible time. However, getting from start to finish without assistance and utmost care is virtually impossible. That’s where quick brainwork, teamwork, excellent driving skills and nerves of hardened steel are called upon. Should a competitor require assistance, various driving aids may be called into play. These include sand ladders, hi-lift jacks, as well as the use of electrical, mechanical, hydraulic or even manual winches. From time to time, a team may even require the services of the vehicle of an opponent to act as an anchor to winch against.
Spectators are guaranteed a spectacle of extremely tough offroad vehicles with all the bolt-on goodies that come along with them – loads of underbody protection, extreme axle articulation, lockable differentials, full roll-over protection and piloted by crews who are tough enough to chew steel for breakfast! The visual spectacle will be accompanied by the sounds of strained engines, howling tyres and the sickening crunch of metal against rock as the teams coax their offroad machines through hell on earth!
The Malta Independent Rock-Crawling Challenge powered by 89.7 Bay is being held in aid of Ir-Razzett tal-Hbiberija. Donations sent to the following SMS numbers will be greatly appreciated and the public is kindly requested to be generous.
For donations of Lm1: 50617513
For donations of Lm2: 50618021
For donations of Lm3: 50618844
Interested parties are invited to attend the first meeting for competing teams at Ir-Razzett tal-Hbiberija on Tuesday 27 September at 8:30pm. For more information, watch these spaces in The Malta Independent!