The next racing day spoiled the game. All were generally ready for impassible swamps and the route now ran across farm roads. It was only hard to fix a check point for a few times. The race was generally about the speed. We should point out that the most fierce competitors arrived at the finish sooner than they were ready to be fix the scores there. And that is how an unrestrained will-to-win spirit is.
Despite the fact the competitors passed the third round route rather fast not all of them were able to go any further. 25 crews fell out of the race as on Wednesday’s morning. Equipment failure was the main cause of such fall. What can we say. Most crews are working round the clock. The crew runs the route at day and the maintenance team fixes any car failures at night. Serhiy Molochnyy, the race director, assured us that all fallen crews get the chance to proceed with the race as long as the crews are not ready to give up.
How can anybody give up if the route runs along picturesque places of Polissya near the national parks and preserved land with Discover Ukraine being the motto of the race. Byelorussian, Russian, American and even Lebanese crews are among the competitors purely enjoying the landscapes. Most places are discovered for the first time by Ukrainians as well.
For example, the northmost ferry crossing in Ukraine located in Rivne region. Belarus is to the north. The small river is 20m wide. However, there is no other way for the local folks to reach the neighbouring village. You can not count a 60-80 km by-pass road which is too much for a horse. Our new Garmin GPS navigator with a НавЛюкс (NavLuks) map loaded onto it (data base released on June 30, 2011) is the only thing that can’t get lost.
We can absolutely erect a bridge and get rid of a necessity to pay 20 hryvnyas for the ferry, on the one hand. The bridge can be a tragedy for some families living in a rather poor village who feed on the ferry for decades (including a few generations even), on the other hand.
“Talking of the trophy running across remote Ukrainian village it makes an extra profit source for the inhabitants. Local businessmen installed their vending kiosks in all camps. Freshly cooked meal is most salable as you can easily see.
We have got an extra member of the crew starting from the second day of the race. Anton Pushkar, a representative of an environmental institution, overlooks the race with us. According to him, the environmental experts are not going to let the cars drive through any preserved land.
- Some minor violations include garbage at the camp but they are taken out very fast, – says Anton.
Sure enough. After the camp is off, specially trained staff of the hosting party collects any garbage left behind garbage bags placed around the camp.
Environmental component of the competition is of primary concern. Toilets are located away from any waters. A movable car wash going along the race route and located at each camping place is designed in a way not to allow for the dirt washed out of the cars to ingress the soil. The car is placed on a large canvas cloth covering the earth for that purpose. The car is not repaired unless there are special mats placed under the car before any manipulations with mechanisms leaking grease, petrol or other fluid. Special gaskets that must used on a tree trunk whenever a winch rope is hooked are at the edge of love for the nature.
We are keeping our eye on all twists and turns on the 2011 Ukraine Trophy. You are welcome to join us at www.ukraine-trophy.com.
