Report on the first Trophy

Unlike the Camel Trophy, where the organiser supplied the vehicles, the participants of the Transsylvania Trophy arrived in their own cars.

The Trophy took place for the first time in May 1993. It was organised by the company WARN and the German OFF-ROAD magazine, and run by Claus Leihner, who died in a car accident in 2012. He was also supported by the Munich Jeep Club.

Sponsors included Warn, Fulda, Taubenreuther, Delta 4×4, PIAA and General Tire, and later also Mickey Thompson, Wehller, Schwedisch 4×4, Tout-Terrain and the two British 4×4 magazines AND and LRO. Journalists reported on the event across Europe and in America as well.

The Trophy was originally meant to take place in Romania. After all official permits for the participants had been obtained, disagreements arose with the partners on site: the host refused to keep the agreements that had been made. The event in Romania was suddenly in jeopardy, and a new location had to be found under massive time pressure.

The choice fell on Ukraine. All negotiations were completed in an extremely short time – and the great plan succeeded: participants from Germany, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Austria and Switzerland were able to start. 29 teams took part.

The Ukrainian Carpathians were a very good replacement. The conditions were almost identical, and the spirit of the Dracula myth has partly survived there too. Many participants felt that even the main roads in Ukraine at that time counted as off-road – quite simply a paradise for off-roaders.

The Trophy ran in a very intense format. Each day began early in the morning, and for some the stages did not end until late at night – for seven days. Hand-written roadbooks were used for navigation.

All participants had the same conditions. Retirements were mostly due to driving mistakes or to not coping alone in the wild. Support along the route was limited at best, and often non-existent.

The vehicles were very different, and many makes were represented. Even so, the technical equipment was almost the same everywhere: every car had at least one winch, sand ladders, differential locks, a snorkel and various safety equipment. There was no GPS or satnav at the time.

At the start, the company Taubenreuther gave briefings on how to operate the winches correctly, which were provided for the duration of the event. Operating mistakes were therefore rare, and there were hardly any failures. The most widely used model was the WARN 8274, which is still in regular use today, including in many modified versions.

The first day began with a special stage on a mountain that quickly got a name of its own: Burger Mountain – because of all the chaos on it. Everyone started at the same time and tried to reach the slope as quickly as possible. In front were the Austrian national champions Martin Friedl and his co-driver in a Land Rover Discovery TDI that had already completed the legendary Camel Trophy.

The cars needed nine hours for the wooded, very steep climb near the Nevytsky ruins. This section demanded cooperation between driver and co-driver. At the top, an old tank road awaited with deep holes, steep drops, landslides and extreme side slopes. Some vehicles had to spend a night in the forest for technical reasons and wait for recovery vehicles.

Other passages led through riverbeds where large boulders and rock ledges had to be overcome. After continuous rain the water in places was up to two metres deep. Only three vehicles got through; all the others had to give up the stage at that point. Because of the heavy rain and swelling rivers, the participants also had to build bridges just to keep going.

The tasks did not get easier. One road was on the map, but in reality it simply ended and was completely impassable. There were no detours. So a road was built for this section: all drivers, co-drivers and marshals – nearly 80 people – lent a hand and built a drivable track for everyone. It was teamwork at its purest, and afterwards everyone could get through.

The whole group could be supplied completely independently all week with food, tools and basic equipment – a MAN 6×6 travelled along for that. A Unimog served as recovery and service vehicle, and a fuel tanker was on hand too, since there were no filling stations along the route.

The Trophy ended in style with an award ceremony and prize giving. The winners from Great Britain were incredibly proud of their result.