Camel Trophy

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Camel Trophy logo
Range Rover with typical paint scheme and equipment in the style of the Trophy vehicles (January 2011). It is not known whether this car is actually an original vehicle.

The Camel Trophy was a kind of rally raid with an expedition character . It was launched in 1980 by the Camel cigarette brand and took place annually in a different country. The idea was developed by the Düsseldorf advertising agency Team / BBDO , the originator was Thomas Wulfes. The "limitless adventure" (so the advertisement) took the participants, who had to qualify in their home countries, through the most difficult terrain in terms of driving technique , mostly in jungle regions. It was not only a question of the skill with the off-road vehicles provided by the organizer , but also of the team spirit, the technical ability to improvise and the perseverance of the participants. The Camel Trophy was discontinued in 1999.

The vehicles were initially jeeps , but later only different types of the Land Rover brand were used. These were equipped by the manufacturer with extensive accessories, such as additional headlights, additional tanks, winches and measures for rollover protection . Each vehicle was occupied by two participants from one country, with up to 20 teams taking part in the last trophies. For Land Rover, the trophy was an important advertising tool to demonstrate the quality of their vehicles under extreme conditions, so the company was one of the main sponsors. After the Trophy's expedition character had waned in recent years, the company decided in 1999 to step down as the main sponsor. This had a decisive influence on the setting of the trophy by Worldwide Brands, the owner of the Camel brand.

Criticism of the Camel Trophy came from a number of serious rally drivers as well as various environmental groups. In addition to the actual teams, the Trophy accompanied a whole fleet of vehicles every year to transport journalists, officials, material and food. In the last few years, the Trophy was no longer technically demanding and was mainly considered a clever advertising stunt . In February 1999, Worldwide Brands decided that the trophy would no longer fit the desired image and stopped funding. Another trophy followed without the former main sponsors.

history

1980: Transamazônica

The first Camel Trophy took place in Brazil on the Transamazônica highway from Belém to Santarém . The trophy covered 1,600 km over twelve days. The competition was held with vehicles of the Jeep brand and partly led directly through the jungle of the Amazon . Three teams from Germany took part.

1981: Sumatra

The 1981 Trophy in Sumatra led five teams from Germany, including a women's team for the first time, over 1600 km from Medan to Jambi . Range Rover were used as vehicles . The cars were upgraded with stronger springs, electric winches, roof racks with sand plates and additional headlights.

1982: Papua New Guinea

In 1982 the Camel Trophy became an international event. In addition to the three teams from Germany, participants from the Netherlands, Italy and the USA attended. The company Land Rover took part as a co-sponsor alongside Camel and donated vehicles from their luxury brand Range Rover for the competition. The route started in Mont Hagen and ended after 1600 km in Madang .

The Camel Trophy in Papua New Guinea included so-called special tasks for the first time : the participants had to perform special tasks in order to put their skills and teamwork to the test.

1983: Zaire

Country teams from seven countries were on the road for the first time in Zaire . The route led over a distance of 1,600 km from Kinshasa to Kisangani .

1984: Brazil

Twelve teams took part in the Camel Trophy in Brazil and had to tackle a route through the tropical rainforest between Santarém and Manaus . It was driven with a Land Rover 110 .

1985: Borneo

Borneo hosted the Trophy for the first time in 1985. The route took 16 teams from Samarinda to Balikpapan .

1986: Australia

For the first time, the Camel Trophy did not take place in the jungle, but in the Australian outback . The 14 teams covered 3218 km from Cooktown to Darwin in their Land Rover 90s in 13 days . The Team Spirit Award was also presented for the first time .

1987: Madagascar

In 1987 the trophy was hosted in Madagascar . 14 teams drove a distance of 2252 km from Diego Suarez to Fort Dauphin .

1988: Sulawesi

The trophy on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi took the twelve participating teams with their Land Rover 110 through the highlands and the jungle of the island. The route was 2092 km long. Start was in Manado , finish in Ujang Padang .

1989: Amazon

In 1989 the Amazon basin between Alta Floresta and Manaus was the target of the Trophy. 14 teams took part.

1990: Siberia

Land Rover Discovery was used for the first time at the Trophy in Siberia . The route led 16 teams from Bratsk to Irkutsk through the forests and steppes of eastern Siberia.

1991: Tanzania and Burundi

The Camel Trophy 1991 led the 17 teams in Tanzania and Burundi in the footsteps of David Livingstone over a good 1600 km to the sources of the Nile. The Special Tasks Award was presented for the first time.

1992: Brazil and Guyana

The 16 teams taking part in the 1992 Trophy covered around 1,600 km from Manaus to Georgetown .

1993: Sabah / Malaysia

The 1993 Camel Trophy took place on Sabah , the Malaysian part of Borneo . Start and finish for 16 teams was Kota Kinabalu . The circuit was around 1500 km.

1994: South America

The South America Trophy led 18 participating teams 2590 km from the Iguazú waterfalls in Argentina via Paraguay to Hornitos in Chile .

1995: Mundo Maya

The trophy of the "Maya World" led the 20 teams through Belize , Mexico , Guatemala , El Salvador and Honduras .

1996: Kalimantan

In 1996 the Camel Trophy again took us to the island of Borneo, this time to Indonesia. As in the previous year, 20 teams were at the start, the winner was the team from Greece .

1997: Mongolia

The team from Austria was victorious for the first time in Mongolia . The trophy led from Ulan Bator through the Gobi desert .

1998: Tierra del Fuego

The Tropy Tierra del Fuego led 19 teams from Chile to Argentina. The start was in Santiago de Chile and the finish was in Ushuaia , the southernmost city in Argentina. The winner was the team from France .

1999: Peru

The first trophy that was not sponsored by Worldwide Brands Inc. and Land Rover went to Peru. The change to a multidisciplinary event in which the driving aspect no longer played the main role no longer fit into the concept of the two sponsors.

2000: Tonga Samoa

The last trophy after 18 years of action and adventure took the 32 competitors in Ribtec 655 power boats to Tonga Samoa. The entire event was held in these boats. The support vehicles were still Land Rover Defender 110 HCPU.

literature

Web links

Commons : Camel Trophy  - collection of images, videos and audio files