Survival To The Power Of (G) Four

Mongolians do not smile when they greet you - to them it is a sign of weakness or at the very least, disrespect. Until recently most of the two million people who survive in the harsh and unforgiving landscape didn‟t have surnames either, but were known only by their first name and by the paths their yaks and goats cut across the plain.
To outsiders Mongolia can be a lesson in survival where for a million square kilometres you‟re unlikely to see a fence, a tarred road or any sign that the 20th century has come and gone.
Next year, the third Land Rover G4 Challenge will set out from the capital city of Ulaanbataar for an epic 4x4 adventure that will travel through the Gobi Desert and the Mongolian Steppes to snow-covered mountains and lush forests in the north.
Like the legendary Mongol emperor Genghis Khan, the 18 teams competing in the G4 will be looking to do more than survive here though - they will be looking to conquer.
The image of Land Rover drivers as tough, rugged and adventurous is thanks largely to the Camel Trophy that for twenty years pioneered epic 4x4ing adventures across the globe.
Tougher laws on cigarette advertising brought the Camel Trophy to an end in 2000 though, and without its yearly test of strength and endurance, Land Rover suffered a series of identity crises, going from the ultimate off-road vehicle to a favourite of brand-conscious yuppies.
In 2003 Land Rover hit the open road again with the G4 Challenge and a new look - the “sandglow” colour of the Camel Trophy was replaced by the Tangiers-orange of the G4, and true to the legacy of the Camel Trophy, combined thousands of kilometres of extreme terrain with adventure racing challenges such as mountain biking, kayaking, trail running, rock climbing and orienteering.
“We have been criticised in the past for not having enough 4x4 driving in the competition,” says Devlin Fogg, one of South Africa‟s Camel Trophy veterans and now a member of the G4 team who has spent more than a year doing reccies in Mongolia. “This year 85% of the driving is off-road and it‟s proper old-school driving - the kind of roads where you could spend an entire day winching.”
Although Land Rover intially envisioned the G4 crossing four countries in three weeks, the logistical nightmare of creating a world-class event in a country with virtually no infrastructure, meant that Land Rover had to go to plan B in Mongolia. “If you‟re going to go to Mongolia you can‟t do it in five days,” says Mark Collins, another of South Africa‟s most successful Camel Trophy competitors.
“Mongolia presents some of the most difficult and most diverse terrain in the world. From sand that can bury cars in the Gobi Desert to the Steppes that can give way to tar-like mud, an easy traverse can turn into a few kilometres of winching and cranking. It‟s unforgiving.” Collins is part of the Magnetic South events team, and for several months now has been putting South Africa‟s toughest athletes through tests of strength and endurance in the Karoo and more recently with a gruelling six-day crossing of Lesotho.
South African teams always featured prominently in the Camel Trophy, and after seven-time Duzi winner Martin Dreyer won the second G4 Challenge in 2006, Land Rover South Africa has gone all-out to ensure that they send the best team to Mongolia.
The 20 competitors who have just spent a week in Lesotho navigating dangerous mountain passes, swimming across ice-cold rivers and mountain biking at altitudes of over 3000m have already been narrowed down to two men and two women.
Having survived relentless physical challenges in Lesotho, the top four will be competing against each other in absolutely freezing conditions at Eastnor Castle in the UK in February before the final team of two is chosen to represent South Africa in Mongolia later next year.
Mongolia will not only be a test for the athletes, but a test for the cars as well, and this time around it is the Discovery 3 that will be under pressure to perform.
Even with the best equipment, things can and probably will go wrong in the unpredictable conditions in Mongolia where temperatures can drop from 15 degrees to minus 50 in a matter of hours.
The difference between the competitors who survive the lows and those that don‟t often has nothing to do with physical strength though.
“The defining quality of the G4 competitors is someone who can think on their feet and not buckle under pressure,” Martin Dreyer says.

“It‟s not always the strongest person in the field who makes it. You have to have a strategy and race your heart out.”

Source:Daily news,by Laurette Lourens