The Camel Trophy
and why cigarettes belong in motorsports
We’re doing blogs now. It’s all downhill from here. Blogs and merch from the bottom of my heart. And I just referred to a singular me as we. It’s worse than I thought already.
I know most people have real life to be involved in and don’t have the spectrum stepping desire to spend endless hours on the internet reading about an assorted list of subjects, but mostly consisting of motorsports, conspiracy theories, and an assortment of well-made short docs on any subject really. Also, some surfing and skating sometimes. So, I’ll do it for you.
The Camel Trophy wasn’t about winning, it was about surviving and seeing what was possible to traverse in a vehicle. An amateur only team competition to race across some of the most formidable terrain that exists on this planet. With a side mission of bringing awareness to the landscapes and cultures, it was primarily guys trying to conquer and get through it.
With the inaugural race held in 1980, the Camel Trophy ran for 20 consecutive years across a litany of countries that included Brazil, Indonesia, Siberia/ USSR, Tanzania, and Mongolia. The Land Rovers that the event is now famous for did not show up until 1981 when Land Rover came on to sponsor the event and did so until 1998; with the 2000 event being run in boats.
Teams had to work together to get through the stage, and the winner was merely and side note. Vehicles were floated down rivers on make shift barges, run across rope bridges, and submerged up to the driver’s chest in river crossings. Surviving was all that mattered.
After Land Rover used the 1999 even to try and promote a new vehicle some of the romanticism was lost, and the manufacturer eventually pulled out all together after that year. Land Rover set out to start their own version of the famed event in 2003, but like most things it was just cooler when cigarettes were involved.