Atlantica - 01.07.2004, Page 54

52 A T L A N T I C A
This year’s Transatlantic Off-Road
Challenge took place on the 29th of May
in Kirkjubaejarklaustur, in southern
Iceland. The small farming village,
which lies about 260 kilometres from the
capital, provided the perfect backdrop to
this thrilling motorcycle race with glaci-
ers and volcanoes looming in the dis-
tance. The race continued for six hours
(from noon to six in the evening), so
many participants came in pairs to trade
off on riding duties. The track is close to
fifteen kilometres long, and riders tend
to go for two hours at a stretch.
Approximately twenty riders did the
whole six-hour ride by themselves.
No one was disappointed with the
exciting tracks that these riders had to
face during the challenge.
Kirkjubaejarklaustur has some of the
most unique terrain in Iceland. The race
was pure madness with plenty of hair-
pin turns and soaring mounts, finishing
up with a sprint across a volcanic desert.
“The volcanic sands are really what sep-
arate the beginners from the advanced
riders,” said Októ Einarsson, who partic-
ipated in the race this year. “Often the
bikes break down in the sand and it real-
ly is an endurance test.”
The weather was fantastic for this
year’s Off-Road Challenge, which is the
most popular race on the Icelandic
motor sports calendar. There were 320
participants in total, with many coming
from overseas – in particular the United
Kingdom, United States, and parts of
Scandinavia. In fact, the winners of this
year’s race were David Knight and
Edward Jones of the UK.
ENDURANCE
TEST
052 Torfæruhjól 22.6.2004 17:41 Page 52