Atlantic British RTV Challenge

by Jeff Berg, Vice President, Empire Rover Owners Society

The Association of North American Land Rover Clubs' (ANARC) Land Rover 50th Anniversary Celebration at Greek Peak Ski Area near Cortland, NY was the site for the first-ever Atlantic British RTV Challenge. Nearly sixty Rovers (from all over North America) in four classes lined up to compete in this ten-stage Association of Rover Clubs(ARC) style RTV trial. [see Sidebar] Christian Szpilfogel piloted his 1972 Series III SWB to overall victory in this exciting, and at times grueling, event.

The AB Challenge was jointly administered by the Empire Rover Owners Society (EROS) and the Ottawa Valley Land Rovers (OVLR). Volunteers from both organizations served as course marshals under the leadership of EROS President Bill Caloccia and Board member Bill Leacock. The two Bills, who were responsible for the course layout, made full use of the ski mountain to provide drivers with diverse challenges. Various stages had drivers navigating a long distance "confidence run" (no pre-scouting on that stage) followed by a muddy hill climb...winding through serpentine courses laid out along the hillside...negotiating a tight path along a creek bed...and testing their technical skills on the mounds of a gravel pit. One observer was heard to describe the layout as "totally Bill-abolical."

When the scorecards were tallied the results were:

WHAT IS AN RTV? Regular readers of the British L-R magazines already know that RTV means road taxed vehicle. In other words, all the Rovers competing must be street legal. The rules are simple. Drivers guide there vehicle through sets of twelve gates per stage without hitting a gate, stopping, or backing up. Vehicles with wheel bases of 100" or more are allowed one "shunt"-that is they can stop, reverse then proceed-per section. Drivers must also stay "in bounds" where boundaries are defined and can not cross back over their tracks unless it is specifically allowed for on a portion of the course. Scoring for each stage depends on how many gates the driver successfully negotiates. Hitting the first gate results in a score of twelve while a clean run nets the driver a zero. As in golf, low score wins.

Perpetual Trophies Awarded There were also two perpetual trophies introduced. The Atlantic British Cup was presented to the team of three drivers (using at least two different vehicles) with the lowest combined score for the RTV. The Blue Ridge Land Rover Club, consisting of Michael T. Boggs, Stuart Moore and Vince Sweeny, edged out the team from Empire Rover Owners Society for this honor. A plaque with the name of the winning team and members will be added to the the perpetual trophy. Additionally team members received trophy plaques recognizing their achievement. The second award, the Empire-Bulldog Trophy-jointly sponsored by EROS and British Bulldog-is for the team of three with the lowest combined scores in both the RTV trial and the Gymkhana event. Team Blue Ridge took this honor as well-again narrowly defeating the lads from Empire. While the competition was fierce for these honors, participants never lost sight of the spirit of the event. Experienced drivers freely gave advice to neophytes and "competitors" cheered each other on. While the day was long, everyone seemed to have a great time. So consider joining us for the fun next year. If your club is interested in conducting an RTV Trial, or if you're just interested in seeing trialing "catch on" over on this side of the pond, get in touch with Empire Rover Owners Society.

For more information on trialing point your WWW browser to ANARC General Competition Rules

Thanks to all of the participants and volunteers who the made the first running of the Atlantic British Challenge such a big success!

Jeff Berg
Virgil, N.Y.
1 August 1998

Empire/LRO List of charges for sponsorship of the lists/website.
Empire/LRO Policies against the distribution of unsolicited commercial e-mail (aka SPAM).
Empire/LRO fees for the distribution of unsolicited commercial e-mail (aka SPAM).
Frequently Asked Questions

<--Back

HOME

TOP

Forward -->