News

The success of the Expedition of the Century.

10.04.2008 12:18:00

On the day of 3 April 2008, the 80-day 2008 Expedition of the Century ended in Gdańsk. The most difficult, and at the same time the longest winter ar expedition in the history of motoring, from Cape Roca in Portugal through Siberia, to the far reaches of Chukotka.

The goal of the 2008 Expedition of the Century was to commemorate the hundredth anniversary of the great event in the history of motoring which was the Great Race on the route Paris - New York from 1908, and the traversing in winter conditions of the route, plotted out, but unconquered a hundred years ago, leading through the regions of Northern Siberia to the ends of Chukotka, where no wheeled mechanical vehicle had been able to arrive.
In the course of only 80 days, the members of 2008 the Expedition of the Century covered almost forty thousand kilometres and twelve time zones. Alone, in one vehicle, they drove over thousands of kilometres of Siberian wilderness in conditions of extreme frost, during the snowy winter of the century. They chose that time deliberately, in order to fight for being first in the most extreme conditions, so that their "reaching the summit" would occur from the most difficult, so-called "northern route". In extremely low temperatures, through the miles-long taiga, mountain valleys and passes, over the ice of frozen rivers and lakes, they fought their way through deep snow. They were not accompanied by other vehicles, at this time of the year even Russians do not get on the road - it is a season of freeze, gales and snowstorms. They traced out routes called "zimniks" for other heavy vehicles. In their everyday battle with the Siberian winter, they sympathetically pulled out other vehicles from deep snow traps, but it also happened that they were pulled out. What they accomplished, nobody until then had managed to accomplish! As quickly as nearly two months from the start in Portugal, they crossed the 180° of eastern geographical longitude on the traverse of the legendary Cape Schmidt, the place where the few expeditions that preceded them reached and finished. The very same day, they arrived in the town of Egvekinot by the Cross Bay, from where, after replenishing their supplies of fuel and other necessary articles, they promptly moved on. They were victors from that very moment! On the legendary 121 kilometre, (R.K.'s note: from Egvekinot) they left the snow-covered tract, heading straight towards the east. Chukotka alone they travelled all over, they reached the Bering Sea, stood on wheels on the ice of the Arctic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean! There were days when in order to go fifteen metres, they needed as much as five hours, and this is not a mistake, it was metres and not kilometres, hammering the vehicle out lasted this long when the chassis got hung up on the ice. Another time, in the course of a week, they covered 207 km struggling every sixteen-hour day with gales, snowstorms and below-fifty-degree cold. They forced their way through to a place where no wheeled vehicle had driven before. Among the drivers of the north, they stirred up admiration and respect. With their drive from Cape Roca in Portugal to the far reaches of Chukotka, first in the history of motoring, they bound the western end of Eurasia with the the eastern one.

The world would remain unknown until today, had it not been for extreme journeys and the accompanying spirit of competition, hence the participants of the 2008 Expedition of the Century invite everybody to competition. The interest among fans of off-road vehicles is very great, accompanied by high emotions, therefore it could be expected that soon there will be daredevils and experts on the subject who will face the winter and Siberia; who in one vehicle, without assistance from outside, in time shorter than 80 days, will reach the East, and the same year, through Siberia and in the same vehicle, will return to Europe. The participants of the 2008 Expedition of the Century invite you once more – let us keep up the spirit of competition !!!