Informatie

The Arctic Challenge is a driving competition through Scandinavia whereby contestants will be able to enjoy a unique driving experience. This is a true test of your own skills, your teammate’s skills and the car to find out how you handle fatigue and setbacks, and drive under arctic conditions that you will generally not come across in the Netherlands. Many teams will seize the opportunity to raise money for charity. However, teams are not required to drive for a good cause and every participant is free to choose whether or not they want to do this.

De Drive
During the Arctic Challenge Tour contestants will focus on navigating, finding the best possible route, team building and driving wisely. The Arctic Challenge Tour offers a challenge to teams of two people who will drive their vehicles throughout Scandinavia under extreme conditions. During different stages of the race the teams will travel enormous distances, this will require them to drive day and night. This demands a huge a amount perseverance. The weather conditions are often extreme with lots of snow, slippery roads and temperatures that are far below zero (up to -40 degrees Celsius). This means the vehicle must be able to handle extreme conditions. The team is responsible for arranging and preparing their own vehicle, and the required equipment. Will you be using snow chains or spiked tires? Will you be driving a car with a diesel or petrol engine?

In short:
The Arctic Challenge Tour is definitely not a holiday trip where contestants will enjoy a lot of sightseeing. The objective is to travel around 7,000 kilometres in seven days to a destination that lies beyond the Arctic Circle. A large part of the tour will be driven on snow- and ice-covered terrain, and contestants will likely encounter extreme weather conditions. The tour includes a rest day. During this day all teams will able to participate in a winter activity, and special heat may also be held. The Arctic Challenge Tour consists of different stages. The teams must apply their navigating skills to find the best possible route while observing local traffic regulations. Additionally, several heats will be held. Each heat is scored to determine the winner of each stage and the general classification. Participants will not be informed in advanced as to which route they will be driving. The organisation determines the number of stages and distance travelled on each stage. Just before the start of the race, each team will be given a checkpoint. Each stage consists of several checkpoints. The teams will use these checkpoints to determine the route that they will be driving. The so-called ‘back office’ will be responsible for relaying the checkpoints to the teams. The participants can find the checkpoints on road maps and/or by entering them into a navigation system or a laptop with route planner. The participants must subsequently calculate the fastest or shortest possible route to the checkpoint.

Speed
The Arctic Challenge Tour is not a speed competition. It is a challenge that requires participants to show their driving and navigational skills, and their ability to anticipate the unexpected. All participants must comply with the local speed limits. This is a competitive tour however. The competitive element lies in finding the best possible route and travelling a stage in the shortest possible time, and/or via the shortest possible route. As previously mentioned, all participants must observe the local maximum speeds. The organisation will conduct checks to assess any violations of the speed limits. If a team repeatedly exceeds the maximum speed it will be disqualified for the current stage and for the general classification. A track and trace system will be used to check the driven route and speeds. Each vehicle will be equipped with a track and trace system. This will enable the back office  to carefully monitor each team. Other people - such as family members, fans and other participants – will be able to follow you live via the Internet. If a team gets into trouble, the back office will take action.

Event date
The Arctic Challenge Tour 2011 will take place from 15 through 22 January 2012. The event will start at the Roemaat Transport terrain in Lichtenvoorde (NL) and end in the centre of Lichtenvoorde (NL).

Media
Each year the Arctic Challenge Tour generates ever more media attention from regional and national radio, television and newspapers. The individual teams usually also manage to generate a great deal of regional media attention. That is why this event is interesting to sponsors. Teams are allowed to attract their own sponsors but should also take into account that the vehicle must include enough space for the event sponsors.