The Eighty-day Expedition of the Century 2008 which finished on April 3rd 2008 in Gdańsk, Poland was the longest & most difficult winter automobile expedition in history. Starting from Rock's Cape in Portugal it went through Siberia & up to the far ends of Chukotka.
As a reminder:
IThe aim of the Eighty-day Expedition of the Century 2008 was to commemorate the 100th anniversary of a great event in automotive history, the Great 1908 New York - Paris Rally. The expedition went through a northern Siberian route up to Chukotka in Siberian winter conditions, something which hadn't been achieved for 100 years and had never been done by motor vehicle.
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Paryż - Berlin - Gdańsk - Wilno - St.Petersburg - Moskwa - Jekaterinburg - Nowosybirsk - Brack - Mirnyj - Jakuck - Ojmiakon - Pevek - Ławrentia - krańce Półwyspu Czukockiego
Result:
The international Polish-Russian automobile expedition team consisted of Romuald Koperski, Marian Pilorz and Viktor Makarovski who, driving the vehicle MAN KAT 1, reached the very ends of the Chukotka Peninsula at Western Longitude 175 42, near where the Icy & Pacific Oceans meet. The Eighty-day Expedition of the Century 2008, was the first one in the history of all Siberian automobile expeditions to reach the furthest easterly point using only one vehicle . |
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About the expedition in brief:
Within 80 days the members of the expedition drove nearly 40.000 km and crossed 12 time zones in the process. With just one vehicle they drove through kilometers of roadless Siberian tracks in extremely frosty and snowy winter conditions. The date was chosen for a purpose, so that they could fight for victory by travelling in extreme conditions through the hardest Northern route. They forced their way through the taiga, valleys, mountain gaps, frozen icy rivers and lakes, deep snow; all in extremely low temperatures & unaccompanied by any other vehicles. At that time of the year even the Russians are not willing to set off, as it is the time of frosts winds and blizzards, so they cleared paths for other vehicles. In their daily fight with the Siberian winter they pulled other vehicles out of deep snowy traps & there were times when they too had to be rescued. Less than two months after the start in Portugal they crossed 180° of the eastern longitude on the beam of the legendary Schmidt's Cape, a place very few expeditions had ever reached- on the same day they reached the town Egvekinot at Cross Bay where, after resupplying their petrol and other necessary products, they continued the expedition. At that time they were already winners- nobody had ever done a similar thing! On the legendary 121 kilometre from Egvekinot they left the track and headed in an easterly direction. They drove the length & breadth of Chukotka & when they reached Bering Sea their vehicle stood on the ice of the Icy Ocean and Pacific Oceans! There were days when they needed five hours to travel just fifteen meters and there's no mistake - that's metres, not kilometres. It also took a lot of time to pull the vehicle out when the chassis got stuck in the ice. Another situation occurred when they travelled only 207 kilometres in a week, fighting for sixteen hours with wind, blizzards and frosts of -50 degrees Celcius. Among the Northern drivers they aroused respect and admiration for their deeds. By Driving from Rock's Cape in Portugal up to the ends of Chukotka they had joined the western ends of Eurasia with the eastern ones.
If extreme expeditions and the spirit of rivalry such as this hadn't existed the world still would have been unknown, that's why the members of the Eighty-day Expedition 2008 invite others to compete with them. There is great interest in the expedition among fans of off-road vehicles, so let's hope that soon another daredevil will face the challenge. The members of the Eighty-day Expedition of the Century 2008 invite you once again- let the spirit of rivalry beginl!!!
You are welcome to visit our photo gallery, a book detailing the Expedition is due to be released soon.
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