Brazil 1984

Camel Trophy 1984 - Brazil

To mark its fifth anniversary in 1984, Camel Trophy returned to Brazil, to the depths of the largest rainforest in the world, the Amazon Basin. Again Land Rover was the choice of the organisers but it was the new One Ten that carried the Solihull flag this time around.

Six nations, including Belgium - newcomers to the event - took up the challenge. The omission of teams from Portugal and Hong Kong allowed each nation to enter two teams. Camel Trophy 1984 became the biggest event run so far with twelve teams participating.

The route selected again involved the notorious Transamazonica Highway, but this time starting at Santarem, where the 1980 event ended. The event finishing in Manaus, capital of Amazonas province, lying at the confluence of the mighty Amazon and the equally impressive Rio Negro.

A particularly severe wet season in 1984 meant that the route originally selected proved impossible so an alternative was found. However, the alternative proved little better for the teams as they slogged and persevered through seemingly endless mud in their Land Rover One Tens. Three times the teams progress was interrupted by damaged or broken bridges, each with a gap more than twelve metres in length. After a great deal of effort and a lot of toil all twelve teams finally made it through to the finish.

Statistics

• Team Vehicles: Land Rover One Ten
• Support Vehicles: Land Rover One Ten
• Distance: 900 km
• Number of Teams: 12

Participating Countries

• Belgium 1 - Polydore Stevens & Jan van der Elst
• Begium 2 - Marc Thomson & Christian Allesbosh
• West Germany 1 - Volker Lapp & Ulrich Schum
• West Germany 2 - Wolfgang Gegg & Hermann Matula
• Holland 1 - Dick Haaksma & Age Krug
• Holland 2 - Michel Dagevos & Kees Vermeer
• Italy 1 - Maurizio Lavi & Alfredo Redaelli (Camel Trophy)
• Italy 2 - Giancarlo Barocelli & Sandro Damiani
• Spain 1 - Alvaro Dominguez Coig & Alfonso Lerma Amezaga
• Spain 2 - Jose J Moreno Zalve & Armando Sosa Matos
• Switzerland 1 - Beat Studer & Othmar Wirth
• Switzerland 2 - Philippe Martin & Richard Moser