Tanzania-Burundi 1991

In 1991, Camel Trophy returned to the African mainland for the first time since the 1983 event. Camel Trophy 1991 was significant not only because it crossed the border between two countries but also for its record entry of seventeen nations.

Once again, the Land Rover Discovery Tdi was the vehicle of choice for the teams, although this event was the first to use the more accessible five-door version.

The route retraced the trail of the famous Scottish explorer Dr David Livingstone, who led a successful quest to discover the source of the Nile in the Nineteenth Century. The 1,800 km convoy route traversed some of the most dramatic and spectacular scenery in Africa, teeming with precious and endangered wildlife, as it made its way from Dar Es Salaam in Tanzania to Bujumbura in Burundi.

With the belated advent of the rainy season, many of the Tanzanian tracks, particularly those through the areas of "black cotton soils", became treacherous quagmires. Progress was slowed dramatically and the incessant whine of winch motors even drowned out the sounds of the African bush.

At the end of this Camel Trophy, during which sleep was a particularly rare commodity, the Austrians won the Special Task Award, while the Turkish team consisting of Menderes Utku and Bulent Ozler won both the Team Spirit Award and the overall Camel Trophy.

This was the first event that where the new scoring/judging system provided three potential award winners for the Camel Trophy, Team Spirit Award and Special Tasks Award. Although the introduction of the Special Tasks Award represented the beginning of the gradual move away from the adventurous expedition style of the event, in the future the overall winner would be calculated using a combination of Special Task results and Team Spirit results.

Statistics

• Team Vehicles: Land Rover Discovery 200Tdi

• Support Vehicles: Land Rover One Ten

• Distance: 1658 km

• Number of Teams: 17

Participating Countries

• Austria - Joseph Altman & Peter Widhalm (Special Tasks Award)

• Belgium - Geert Blondeel & Tony Carrette

• Canary Islands - Alejandro Marrero & Clemente Lopez

• France - Jean-Pierre Chautagnat & Jerome Krief

• Germany - Andreas Bublat & Wolfram Ettgen

• Greece - Thanassis Choundras & Thanassis Papadimitriou

• Holland - Marcel Van Bemmel & Jan Pepers

• Italy - Carlo Rinaldi & Emilio Previtali

• Japan - Kaoru Shoji & Hideo Mukoyama

• Poland - Slawomir Makaruk & Grzegorz Kowalski

• Soviet Union - Vadim Saveliev & Mikael Snarski

• Spain - Fernando Castaneda Smids & Javier Vila Altimir

• Switzerland - Erwin Karrer & Eric Krebs

• Turkey - Menderes Utku & Bulent Ozler (Camel Trophy & Team Spirit Award)

• United Kingdom - Tim Dray & Andrew Street

• United States - Webb Arnold & Bill Burke

• Yugoslavia - Roman Vukovic & Darko Dular