Nordic Trial Open
This is the first time I attend an off-road trial. Many of the Nordic top drivers are gathered here today to compete. It's really fun to compare it to the Formula Off Road and see the similarities as well as the differences.
Conditions are perfect with light and fresh breeze and the sun shining to warm us up a little.
The first thing I notice as I enter the area is how many trucks are competing and the number of beat up Suzuki short bed 4x4s are ready to start.
Another thing I notice is that running a trial off road rig is a lot less expensive and there are many newcomers and more girls competing. Everyone seems to be there primarily for the joy of the trails ahead.
Tore Hanson from team Steyr showing off before the competition.
This time 16 year old youngsters are allowed to drive with an adult co-driver.
Off Road Trial is currently one of the fastest growing motor sport in Europe. The areas are scenic woodlands with trees and rocks and slopes.
Six classes of vehicles are defined and each has a slightly different route they must traverse through the sections. The classes are identified by a special color scheme in increasing order of difficulty:
The mean looking "American Pride" is competing in the light-truck class. It is a Chevy Blazer K5 with about 200 horses under the hood.
The steep slopes prove a real challenge with many rollovers. The roll cages and lower speed insures no one is harmed.
The points counted are really penalty points for failures in each of the tracks.
If you manage to finish a track you cant get more than 15 penalty points.
Tore Hansen is competing at that event for (Team Magic) with my friend Ponce, from MXRRA as a copilot. Tore is in the Pro-Modified class. The copilot has the role of watching the tires and obstacles on the right side of the 4x4.
One of the many rollovers.
It gets really steep at times. The short wheel based trucks are getting right on the edge of flipping over.
Here is a homebuilt proto class truck by the Norwegian Kjell Magne Rimstad.
Andre Randsjo two times winner of the Nordic trial. He and his daughter Victory are using this Suzuki SJ423E in the Modified class.
Svein Arild Sitansen competing in the Pro-Modified class, also know and Super-Svein, comes to an abrupt halt when the rear axle falls off his "Kill Car".
After this incident the track was eliminated for the rest of the event. Some where lucky and got their penalty points dropped. Other teams had already passed the track successfully and lost because of that like Tore and Ponce who fell down to fourth place and Ove and Hans who fell down to fifth in Pro-Modified class.
Oddbjorn Thingsbaek in hus Suzuki gets second place in the modified class.
Odd Arild Hoel from Norway is not afraid to risk a few scratches on the Ferrari shining red Toyota Hilux. As a consequence he wins the first place in the light-truck class.
It can be hard not to touch the markings.
Ponce seems to be enjoying the ride in the Magic truck.
All trucks have stickers with spaces for writing the tracks penalty points. Since each track must be driven twice there are two rows. Although the order of tracks is not important, all tracks must be finished in first round before going for the second round.
The Norwegian team Rock Crawlers Steyr invite us to a Danish style barbeque! With pork and "polser" along with salad and hot bread.
Thanks!
Right by the Steyr teams tent I spot this 44 inch LandCruiser. Looks like it is built in Iceland - and that turns out to be correct. It was imported by the Icelander who started the Norwegian Arktic Trucks division.
Here is how NOT to handle the markings. Gunnar Whalen on the Mitsubishi Pajero chose to force his way through this situation.
Lars Dahl from Sweden driving the Yellow Spider in the Proto class. The engine is a VW VR6 2.81 providing about 174 hp.
Trond Lovenskogen sitting in the engine compartment of his "American Pride" has more than enough space to get on with his task. Unfortunately the breakdown is too difficult to fix within the timeframe of the trial.
Sven Arne Knudsen in his small red Suzuki LJ80 having some heat problems. Despite all that he wins in the Standard class.
The shining Yellow Spider with the Volvo c303 portal axles.
Maylinn Swinburne from Norway driving the "Flying Lassie" in the Pro-Modified class.
Mats Johansson on his Dragon Fly proves that even the Protos can roll over.
Men in Black? - Tore Johan Frigstad dressed in black for the day to show the fun side of the sport. Here they are taking a closer look at their next track. The color of their original class Suzuki? - Also BLACK !
The Finn Samuli Suoiminen driving the proto class vehicle Kuksa Evo 2.0. One of the most powerful 4x4s today with around 1000 hp!
Fredrik Assarson from Sweden on his souped up Suzuki SJ423 shows great determination and wins in the Modified class.
Tore Hansen's shows us the extra controls he uses in his Magic truck. These are for each axle: drive on/off, air-lockers and breaks.
The Dragon Fly close to rolling over.
Tore Hansen with the Crawl Magazine flag he used to decorate his rooftop today. The black beauty on his side is his pride and joy. A specially modified bus with a car lift and garage in the back and seating and sleeping up front.
1. Morten Hansen Norway Vraket Suzuki SJ 410 2. Tore Johan Frigstad / Frode Abusland Norway Suzuki SJ 413 3. Rolf Johannesson Norway Suzuki
1. Sven-Arne Knudsen / Linda M. Moen Norway LJ 2. Christer Wilsby Sweden Suzuki LJ 80 3. Sveinung Haugsotyl / Tina Haugsotyl Norway Suzuki SJ
1. Odd Arild Hoel / Lars Gjerdalen Norway Runner'n 2. Oystein Vierdal / Jofrid Hegdal Norway Jeep Wagoneer 3. Trond Lorenskogen / Atle Bratberg Norway American Pride
1. Fredrik Assarsson / Terese Persson Sweden Suzuki SJ 423 2. Oddbjorn Thingsbaek / Olav Auestad Norway Suzuki 3. Vidar Torjussen Norway Suzuki LJ 80
1. Paal Blesvik / Yngve Larsen Norway Rock Climber 2. Tommy Savervik / Fanny Savervik Sweden Willys M38 3. Oystein Dehnes / Aina Norheim Norway Firer'n 4. Tore Hansen / Jose Manuel Ponce Norway / Mexico Team Magic 5. Ove Andersson / Hans Marius Andersson Norway Team Boy Toy
1. Tore Hansen / Johan Westerheim Norway Steyr Crawler 2. Gustav Dahl / Henrik Waverstam Sweden Betsy II 3. Tommy Olsen / Finn Norlem Jensen Norway Steyr Spider
(Unconfirmed results)
Thanks to the organizers and the competitors and other great people that shared the fun this weekend!
What are Offroad Trials? When it comes to off-road driving, there are so many different ways to challenge yourself and your truck. The off-road and extreme 4x4 events held every year provide an organized way to experience the thrill of hardcore driving, but sometimes there's nothing like a simple ride with only you, your 4x4 and the great unknown out in front of you.
