Bridgestone Adventure Series – a new game of tough!
Tougher than ever, with a good helping of mud, sweat and tears, topped off with some new twists
and turns that will test man and machine like never before.
This is the new Bridgestone 4x4 Adventure Series which is set to make its debut in 2015. The new
series evolved from Bridgestone’s original 4x4 Fundi Challenge and the 4x4 Club Challenge. South
Africa’s top 4x4 clubs will still play an integral part in the series but the competition has been spiced
up some, and the rules streamlined to support the new format.
The Adventure Series starts off with four qualifying rounds, or boot camps, where 4x4 enthusiasts
will compete in their own 4x4s. The qualifying rounds will all be hosted at the Leeuwenkloof 4x4
centre, near Hartbeespoort Dam.
The Top 65 teams from the boot camps (and top five crews from each club) will then advance to the
“Eliminator rounds” at 4x4 tracks near Johannesburg and Pretoria. There will be at least two new
tracks included in the 2015 line-up. In the Eliminator rounds the bottom-placed teams in each round
will be eliminated from the competition, leaving only the Top 30 crews for the FINAL, which is set to
take place in November 2015.
Points are accrued in the Eliminator rounds as per the results for each event, so steady
performances in all six knock-out rounds should earn a crew a place in the final – and a shot at the
title.
In another new twist all the obstacles at all the 2015 events will be designed by one man: Sakkie
Coetzee. Coetzee is a legend amongst the 4x4 fraternity, and his 4x4 obstacles have made grown
men shed a tear in the past. Obstacles will be short but very tough and technical, with 20 poles per
obstacle. The current scoring system for obstacles will be retained.
Also new is the introduction of a “Drive-off” element. In some of the Eliminator rounds, the crews
who finish in the bottom fifth and six places will have to drive a 4x4 supplied by co-sponsors
Opposite Lock and Conqueror. The winners of this “all-or-nothing obstacle” stay in the competition,
and the losers are out. So teams will drive their own 4x4s in the competition, including the final
event, but there may be one obstacle per event that will have to be completed in a supplied 4x4.
The prizes for event and overall winners have also been streamlined. In the qualifying rounds the
Top 10 teams will receive prizes, with a R10 000 tyre voucher from Bridgestone SA as the main
carrot in these rounds. In the Eliminator rounds the Top 3 crews of the day will receive trophies and
the best environmental performer will receive that R10 000 Bridgestone tyre voucher. A new, more
comprehensive scoring system for the Environmental prize will also be introduced.
Overall prizes will again be comprehensive, and will include off-road gear as well as big cash prizes.
So there’s certainly a lot more to play for than just bragging rights.
“As before, we’re focusing on standard or near-standard production 4x4s, instead of heavily
modified off-road machines,” explains Bridgestone SA’s Guthrie Blaine. “The new Adventure Series
format brings new challenges for the teams, and will definitely add a new dimension to the dynamic
of the competition. The competition will be tougher than ever before, and the overall winner of this
contest will really have to be at the top of his or her game, all the time.”
The four Boot camp legs will be hosted at the Bridgestone Facility at Leeuwenkloof on the following
dates in 2015.
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21 February 2015
28th March 2015
18th April 2015
30th May 2015
Each club needs to nominate the names of all entries from your club that will be participating in ONE
of the four qualifying rounds hosted by Bridgestone.
From the four rounds the top FIVE representatives from each club will represent the club for the
series that made up of SIX events, all adding to a score for the final prize.
More information: Guthrie Blaine – Tel. 082 809-8223 – e-mail [email protected]