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This is the single-news section of the
marathonrally.com rally-live special of the Rainforest Challenge 2006. To navigate please use the upper or right Navigation Bar.
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Rainforest Challenge: Summary: The RFC is different in all aspects.
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In contrast to the various other events marathonrally.com has attended during the last four years we brought something very special home: The internationality and atmosphere of close friendships is incomparable. Participants, tourists and press members from all continents, skin colors and religions had been for ten days in the jungle under extreme conditions and grew closer together than we ever experienced before. A lot of international friendships were born - and already now plans for the next year are being made.
Founder Luis J.A. Wee stands with the entire heart behind "his" Rainforest Challenge, is permanently personally available for the participants and feels positively responsible for everyone. He not only always has an open ear for ideas and suggestions, he also implements many of them immediately. Generally the family like atmosphere and good and friendly organizations sometimes leads to putting the sportive part of the event into the background.
How should you categorize the Rainforest Challenge now? In ten days we always experienced something new - were disappointed and heavily entrhilled (concerning the sportive part) and are now slightly concerned about the title "the world's toughest trophy". The first RFC stages were comparable to weekend events that we know from Germany such as for example the Leipzig 4-hour race only that the first RFC stages were much shorter and more simple. Then came transport stages that exceeded everything known in terms of difficulty, danger and requirements to man and machine setting the upper limit in the trophy area.
"The Rainforest Challenge is an alibi event" we heard in Germany before the start of the event. If you compare the RFC with a "normal" Trophy this might even be true partially. In addition there is a slight "show effect" that the organizer Wee perfectly puts in place: waving flags, always drive in obvious convoys (with police escorts clearing the way), a perfect involvement of press and politics and the participants' luxurious pampering at the beginning and ending of the event.
However if you add the last part of the event in the Twilight Zone, the internationality, the family like atmosphere and last but not least the indescribable breathtaking previously unknown jungle conditions this statement is not justified at all. The participant Navin Marapana from Sri Lanka who is first time on a RFC described it as following: "We are slightly disappointed, we expected more. The small special stages were simple too short and too simple we had hoped for longer special stages. But the transport stages, some even to be driven at night, and the Twilight Zone were absolutely incredible and alone worth the participation and long journey to Malaysia. We will definitely come again next year." Markus Osswald from Austria who has been to the RFC before was completely happy with this year's event: "A fantastic event. This year we almost only has sun and no rain. This had a big effect on the tracks. Had it rained more than half of the stages would have been hardly passable and a big part of the teams would have been still in the jungle during the pricegiving ceremony - this already happened before."
The completely matching phrase for the Rainforest Challenge would probably be: "The world's toughest jungle adventure expedition with a sportive competition and high requirements to man and material". Maybe this is also the reason why now so many Camel Trophy veterans are members of the Rainforest Challenge organization team.
Our unanimous summary: A real trophy fan who loves the adventure will not get around participating in the Rainforest Challenge - at least once a lifetime you definitely should have experienced it. The German trophy legend Frieder Schwarz (passed away 2004) once came to Malaysia to see it - time again to wave German, Swiss and more Austrian flags in Malaysia. This year from Europe teams from Austria, Poland and Danmark participated (next to numerous tourists from Hungary, Italy, France, Spain, Romania, Portugal and Greece). And they are all sure about it: We will come again next year!
2006/12/07 | 04:35 CET | Editor: RFC Live-Team/js
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