Now in its ninth edition, the Cluj Cup, organized by the Transsylvania Off Road Club, has become a sort of a tradition. Although the new edition has been renamed into the Transsylvania Off Road Challenge, the spirit has stayed the same. The competition was not just another off road race but also a stage of the National Off Road Championship of Romania, with the aid of the National Motorsport Federation as well as the National Off Road Committee.
The competition, held in the heart of the Carpathians, sported some of the most breathtaking landscapes of the Apuseni Mountains while also insuring some of the more difficult tracks available for off road lovers. The calling that this region has was clearly reflected in the number of people attending and competing in the event one of the largest numbers of all the Championship stages of the 2010 edition, in all three categories (Standard, Open, Extreme) with a total of 55 trucks ranging from small Suzukis to purpose built prototypes.
Having passed the tech check, registration and brief, the teams set off Friday morning for the first official competition day. All classes had to navigate the days track via clearly marked roadbooks. By way of habit already, the navigation put the copilot to the test, having to focus on complex and fast sections where any error would mean loss of precious time.
Because off roading is very rarely just about the finish line, the organizers set off to combine difficult tracks with charming sights, leading the competitors from epic landscapes with mountain passes and pristine forests to fast flowing mountain creeks and difficult ravines. The challenges that the journey raised were thought up to be more technical than ever, with water torrents, rock sections, deep mud, challenging climbs and the ever present side slopes.
Because it was a full days competition, all classes had to finish a long section with 110 kms for the Extreme class, 85 kms for the Open and 80 kms for the Standard class. Ever present fatigue in competitors needed to be compensated by extra attention, as the Extreme class teams had a load of surprises along the way, including a valley with a large trench which needed to be crossed. However, only the most experienced racers could do so without the use of their winches, as the crossing angle would facilitate the rolling over of the car and possibly the end of their race there. To make everything even more difficult, the teams that did manage to pass the trench were served up with a deep swamp that needed to be crossed, seasoned with a particularly steep climb.
In a similar set of circumstances, the Extreme class had to navigate freely through a river section littered with large boulders where the cars exterior had to suffer, more often than not. The Open and Standard classes had it a little better, with the organizers concentrating on sightseeing rather than off road. The Open class teams did have the chance to test their vehicles on some sections of the tracks which were also used for hardcore logging and were at the edge of not even being roads anymore but rather areas where tree trunks would be dragged on.
Saturday was designed to be a little shorter while also dialing down on the difficulty. It goes without saying that this doesnt mean fast stages and cruising along. The teams had their work cut out for them, having to tackle hidden obstacles that the treacherous mountains and the creative organizing teams had in store for them. The route was slightly longer, for the Open class while the Extreme class had a seemingly shorter track as well the difficulty of both classes was also diminished.
A particularly steep descent that the competitors had to negotiate was designed so that drivers who would not be careful could easily put their cars on the ride or roll them over on the roof. Because this didnt seem challenging enough, the rest of the track was filled with fallen logs, boulders and deep wheel trails, ideal for getting your truck suspended. The Standard class, which saw almost nothing of the difficulty and dangers that the mountains pose but did have a chance to take in all their beauty, had to navigate a relatively short and charming track what we would call green laning.
The absolute surprise of the competition were two teams from Targu Mures, who competed in the extreme class. Nothing strange so far, but the thing is .. they competed with nearly stock Toyota Land Cruiser 73s. They did this as a sign of protest against the huge increase in prototypes that keep appearing in championships, which do tend to take all the fun and challenge out of the competitions. They werent bad either. They managed to come on the 4th and 5th places in the stage which, considering the highly modified cars that competed was really something. They did manage to prove that, regardless of the cars, the difference between a win and an abandoned race has everything to do with the pilot and copilot.
In the last day of the race, the competitors had to go around a trial section on a natural course similar to the well known Eurotrial stages. With the full range of obstacles to navigate around the special trial stage on Sunday brought out a large audience who were more than delighted to see the beasts in action, giving their all. Because off road is a group sport, Suzuki Romania thought of involving the spectators as well. They designed a Suzuki Challenge stage, especially for the small monsters to go around and invited the members of the audience who possessed one of these beauties to go around the track and see what their car can really do.
At the end of this stage, the club held the awards ceremony for all classes while also promising an even better event next year, when the Transsylvania Off Road Challenge would finally be in its tenth edition.
Standard:
1
standard
iancu dragos
sorescu mihai
2
standard
radu alin
attila pal
3
standard
jeremias terezia
jernean erzsebet
Open:
1
open
dutu valentin
hozgan andrei
2
open
floricescu adrian
alexandroae valentin
3
open
blaga daniel
herman josef
Extreme:
1
extreme
casuneanu costel
zani maurilio
2
extreme
kiraly dan
kiraly barna
3
extreme
craioveanu sorin
tutuianu robert
Radu Tudoroiu
Radu Tudoroiu is a photographer and an editor for 4x4 Off Roads and other publications as well as an off-road enthusiast. Radu lives in Romania.
Pal Levo - deserves credit for some of the photos and great intel
