Off road 4 wheel challenge

Did an off-road challenge last weekend and thought I’d write a bit about it.

It was at Belvoir Castle, not far from Grantham in the UK. I arrived about 8:30 AM and got transported to the first event by minibus. It was a drive in a short wheelbase LAND ROVER which I took out around a test circuit in the castle grounds. These things really stick to the road! Not that there was much road, just dirt tracks which at times got so steep the Land Rover sloped over at a 45 degree angle. Still felt incredibly sure-footed and I’d have cbeen confident to push it more if the instructor had allowed me to. The instructor tells you to keep it in a low ratio all the way around so some parts are quite slow and tame. Good event to start the day with.

From there it was on by minibus to the QUAD BIKING where we I jumped on a heavily restricted quad. First to volunteer (every time as it turned out), I think the instructors suspected I was going to try to push these things as hard as possible. Unfortunately the restriction meant all I could do was gently flick the back end out on the cone slalom, although by the end I did manage to get a small four wheel drift going. Shame about the speed restriction as this could have been a good event.

Another shuttle bus ride and I was at the TANK DRIVING area. Nice one for the novelty aspect this, but don’t expect to crush any cars. There are 2 laps of a muddy rutted track and a quick figure of eight but the slow speed and lack of challenge made this somewhat of a disappointment. Radar, our resident technical guru (and complete anorak), tells me that the 30 year old Abbot which I drove was not in fact a tank but a self-propelled gun. Ziiiiiip!

A bit of archery followed and then it was off to lunch and a quick tour of the castle.

After lunch we caught the minibus to the Honda Pilot track. It had just started to rain and again I volunteered to go first. Honda pilots are like off-road go-karts and they are heaps of fun. Starting problems meant I had to use the instructor’s pilot. He wound the restrictor in a bitd on the throttle but not enough to stop me having a whale of a time churning the track up for the others. I noticed as the rain came down how much grip I was losing which made it feel like a proper race. Unfortunately, as we were 2 at a time on the track, I had to keep stopping to allow the guy in front a half-track distance for safety. It was fun to let him come round to right behind me and then go flat out to catch him up over a lap. Not even a frown from the instructor, I think he must have been a biker. []

The final event was the HOVERCRAFT. All I can say is it was the best out of the lot for me. I just want to build one of these things (any ideas GSXHooligan?). First off there was a land slalom which culminated in a sort of hovercraft style handbrake turn between marker flags which tested your handling skills. Then it was a small grassy section which had to be navigated and a steep plunge onto the lake. Full throttle on the lake and start turning well in advance of the marker buoys. A few people messed this up by backing off on the throttle and then the craft just drops and floats on the water. To get it going again requires a shift of weight (read ‘hang over the edge’) and you recive a more than faceful of water. Hilarious.

All in all, I’d say it was a great day. For those who like a bit of speed, maybe you should look elsewhere. For those who appreciate a bit of variety it’s perfect.

Check out https://www.tangerineuk.com/products/offroadchallenge.htm for more details.