This is an early an annoucement for a race that will take place in Kuching, SARAWAK, East Malaysia.

The final date is not fixed yet but it will be late January or beginning February 2011.
This event is a combined Off-road challenge for 4x4 and enduro/motocross bike race in form of a simplified enduro.

The official name should be HORNBILL EXTREME CHALLENGE, it is organized by the SAKTA (Sarawak 4x4 Adventure and Travel club) of Kuching. They want to create an event to promote off-road sports in Sarawak. They have a long experience in 4x4 but little in enduro.
Philippe (another french) and I will be in charge of tracing the enduro part. I have been racing 6 years in France and Philippe is pure enduro passionate. He will be our technical adviser for all the organization.

In order to open it to a maximum of competitors this will not be affiliated to the FIM, but an open event with a specific event license like the Rainforest Challenge.

The regulation will be a simplified Enduro. However we keep the transfer and special test (cross test, enduro test, prologue).
Time-keeping will be on a day base and the given time for a lap will be large.


Pic 1: Situation of the event near Kuching

There will be 3 days of competion, the level of transfer should not be too difficult but be prepared to ride at least 160kms a day for Day 1 and Day 2 with at least 6 special tests a day.

Day 1: Prologue in Samarahan
Day 1 will take place not far from Kuching and it will be a light extreme test to be done 2 or 3 times. On the same site there will be the 4x4 SS. We expect a lot of spectators as it is very close to the city.
All the caravan is going to Sematan at night where we stay in the Beach Resort.

Day 2: Sematan
In Sematan we should have a 50kms loop to do 3 or 4 times. A cross test will be traced on the beach and the nearby forest. The loop is fully in the ujungle close to the Indonesian border in a remote area.
I haven't done the full reccee there yet but there should be 2 enduro tests, one in a palm plantation and one further in the jungle on the main track itself. More information to come once the reccee is done.
We spend another night at the Beach Resort

Day 3: Rayu/Matang
The bikes will be taken to Rayu area, this is an off-road zone almost the size of Singapore. There are hundreds of kms of logging trails and we go there very often for extreme 4x4.
The loop is 80kms and will have to be done 2 or 3 times depending on the weather conditions. There will be 2 specials tests, one enduro test just
by the road side and one cross test in the middle of the jungle (to be confirmed). The enduro test is 7km long and partly along the road, partly in the nearby forest. I expect it to last more than 10mns as the 3rd part is quite technical.
The loop is all on quite large trails but it's very hilly and not going to be that easy, especially if the rain is with us, which is very frequent in Borneo.
Rayu is 25mns from the center of Kuching so we can expect a lots of spectators along the Enduro test.


Pic 2: Day 3 in the RAYU area

Organization.
How to get there
. We thought about everything. For those coming froim outside Borneo we will propose a complete package that include:
- Shipping the bikes from Johor (the SAKTA works with a shipping company when they ship cars to the RFC)
- Complete assistance for the 3 days. We transport the bikes, an carry your gas tanks and crates (tools, etc..)
- Hotel in Kuching, Hotel in Sematan
- we may arange special fare for the plane between (sgpore/Kchg)

What about the cost?
Shipping bikes should cost about 200RM per bike so we expect about 1000 to 1500RM for the total package inclusive of assistance and hotel (to be confirmed)
The flight fare way/return is around 400RM retrun from Sgpre/Kchg

As a bonus the local bike shop can provide a set of tires (Swalow from Indonesia, japanese standard) for less than 300RM. So take your bike with
old tires on it! He also carry brake pads and motocross shirt, and other stuff for very good prices.

The spirit of this Enduro is that you don't need to be an expert to participate. Of course there is a minimum level required.
Those who already went with Ah Guang I would say that this is like doing a 2 days Ah Guang trail + a Nusaya Race intermediate level.

So if you want to participate, start to train your endurance, because 3 days of off-road with 2 days of 6 hours per day it's long! Don't forget the special tests that pumps a lot of energy, and there will be more than 6 a day!
Technically there shouldn't be anything really difficult and if because of the rain it becomes very tough we will adapt the length of the trails.

The number of competitors will be limited to 100 as this our first organization and it would be difficult to transport more than 100 bikes accross the different sites.
Regarding categories it will depend on the number of participants and the variety of them. Everyone will take the same tracks and special test.
I can think something like:
- E1 (125cc to 200cc 2Stroke, 150cc to 300cc 4Stroke)
- E2 (above 200cc 2S and 300c 4S)
- Veteran
- Feminine

Within E1 and E2 we may have sub-categories (Novice, Advanced, Expert) the difference being that the allocated time-keeping for the overall race
will be different, shorter for advanced and expert.

So now on, please contact me and follow this thread as there will be more information coming. I will answer all your questions.

If you want to have an idea of the terrain near Kuching, look at pictures on my Picasaweb

Let's go Enduro!

Looks and sounds like a lot of fun, do post up more information!!

sounds like instresting, hopefully i back before the date still at sea somewhere indian ocean!

Sounds great where do I sign up!

That looks awesome...The 200 would love it! I, on the other hand am terrified...sign me up!

Thanks for the responses.

As I said it's an early annoucement so as soon as dates can be confirmed I will post a sign in form.

I plan to go there and do some reccee with a bike to evaluate the real diffculty and the length of the loop. So we can decide how many times we have to do each loop.

I'm targetting at least 5 hours of riding a day for the average, not including the resting time.
First start 8am, expected end 5pm.

Let's go Enduro!

Hello guys !

I am new in this forum as i am the Philippe from France mentioned above.
I hope the SAKTA club and us can create a nice event , i will do my best so it will look like an european type enduro.
For those who need to see more of me check my picasa :

picasaweb.google.com/unemaxirando

and check this french website about a 3 days race already on its 24 th years.
clic on the yellow words on the front page , you will see the 25 min length video about the 2010 event .

www.trefle-lozerien-amv.com/

i am sure you will enjoy it !
See you soon in the trails of Sarawak.

This sounds like a lot of fun, I'm in. However I would like to offer a few words of advice. Transport of bikes. I have raced in Sarawak before at a motocross event held each year near Bau. Every year that they had riders come from this side of Malaysia and bring bikes by air or ship the bikes either turned up late for the event or not at all. You need written assurances from the shipping company that the goods will get there on time and back on time. Track marking. 4x4 people have no idea how fast we travel on the more open tracks and usually don't mark the track well enough, we need more than red and white ribbon at the corner. will you be able to ensure that there is no other traffic on the track. In 2001 I did a 3 day enduro in Penang, first day the second and third riders had a head on collision taking out the third rider (poor markings). I asked if there was a zero bike making sure the track was clear and was told yes. I was leading and had to stop to open gates! Second day got lost, poor markings and had to pass about 30 4x4's, contruction trucks and logging trucks on the way to the finish. Third day raced through a village where I don't think the village people knew what was happening considering how many kids were running around close to the road we were racing on. And this event was sanctioned by those dickheads from the AAM. I don't want to go through this again. I do want to do this race and go back to Sarawak as the people are very hospitable.

Regards Macspeeed.

Those are all very good remarks and I know that 4x4 are not used to that kind of competitions. That's why the Enduro part is organized by 2 french competitors (maybe 3!) Philippe and I who have a combined 20 years of experience in enduro and cross-country. We expect to have budget to invite at least 2 international racers as January in Europe is the low season.

1. Regarding shipping
The company we use is one that has been used by the Sakta to ship the cars for the Rain Forest challenge, we make sure that the bike will be taken to Kuching at least one week before. I have a relative who is the head of the custom at the Kuching port, that should help as well.

2. Regarding the track
The track for cars and bike should be different. I have a 4x4, I wouldn't want to hit it with my bike!!! It looks like a Mad Max car.

Philippe and I won't be racing. We will be Marshals all along the competition. There are no villages where we are going but still some logging activity near Rayu. However more than half of the loop in Rayu is totally abandonned and no vehicle are going there except our 4x4.
Regarding Sematan the entry is a Palm plantation (where I plan to have an enduro test) but the rest is totally abandonned and I have to check that we don't need to rebuild too many bridges!

The time will be very large and if there was the need for some overlap between cars and bikes we will neutralize the portion were there are cars.

You're right that 4x4 are much slower than enduro bikes, I rarely go over 60km/h with my truck (and it's almost 300Hp!) while already had peak speed at more 100Km/h with the KTM (a bit too fast for my liking!).

I have seen poor marking in europeen enduro that caused collision, one of my close friend had one fortunately with no gravity. Our objective is to make this event a classic in South-east Asia so we want that the competitor who do it have only one thing in mind, come back again!

As I said this won't be a strict enduro as too few riders would really understand the regulation. There will be time keeping given as an indication but an eventual Out of time will be only on the total of the day and even if you are out one day, you can still do the other day.
The objective is to enjoy a maximum of special tests and the thrill of competing against the chronometer and each other. With no strict time keeping during the transfer we want to propmote good friendship among riders so if there are difficulty they help each other, but when the chrono is started... it's the race!

When a riders start to really understand how an enduro works then we can make it more strict and closer to a FIM event. But this Asia so I think we must adapt to the specificity of Asia.

Hope to meet you one of this days to discuss more about it. I'm going to Nusajaya this Sunday.

Olivier

Hi Oliver,

Bretts a top man with a lot of experince in this region who understand that politics and cultures in the area. He has raced the ISDE and A4DE so he knows a couple of things about enduro. You'll get to meet him at the next Ipoh race or the Lipis race thats coming up in October. His input would be very valuable I'm sure.

Hi Olivier,
Good on you for giving this a go, I am sure you can make it happen.
You have the right perspective of Asia and time keeping, this can work.
The only thing I ask is that the experts have something tough to work out, not fire track or open trail, something they have to stop and think about otherwise it will be the normal dirt race in Asia that can be done on a Hyabusa.
Bret and others have lifted the game for hare scrambles locally and as a result of them lifting the game the level of riding has increased significantly, the local riders are up for a challenge and willing to try hard, and they do.
I might see you at Nusajaya on Sunday, feel free to say hello and join us.

PM me if you need anything

Looks like you have it under control, well done. The days of long distance enduro's like your planning in West Malaysia are over due to the building of many new highways that have made this type of enduro inpractical. I'm looking foward to it and if I can be of any help give me a call. Larry thanks for your comments. I will make a statment about Kuala Lipis next Thursday.

Regards Macspeeed.

Hi Few words from France !

First, i can assure you that we will be very tight upon security rules during this event, in Europe we are.

The tracks in the countryside will be close to all traffic in opposite side. and only going one way . (basic rule of enduro race)

One marshall on bike is going to open it before the race to check if anything is clear .

For the marking of the track :I have already sent Olivier samples of arrows and signals uses during the WEC and french enduro championship .
If you want to see how enduro looks like in France go to :
www.enduro-france.fr/.

For the level of the track : i think there will be a mix of everything , but from the little i 've seen in this area when i went there with olivier during reccee by 4x4 , we can design a hard track for expert riders, so tough that we will need detours in case of heavy rains !.

You have my words , you will enjoy the special tests : enduro tests and cross tests , the one the beach and into the coconut plantation will be a hit !
The area near Kuching is a perfect site to create a nice and tough race .
See you there !

Sounds like you guys have plenty of passion to get the job done. I'm sure it will be a great event!
If we can help in any way just say the word!
I better start training...

Hi,

Regarding difficulty the trails we have done in Kuching with 4x4 are so tough that if it rains no bike would be able to go through!

Have a look on my Picasa of the last extreme outing we did. 10 cars, 1km, six hours to go out, 4 winches broken (PTO, not electrical). No one managed to go without winching on all the 3 little hills and we have really extreme cars (250 to 300Hp with lockers and 2 to 3 winches by car, Simex centipede 35" tires). Not the king fancy 4x4 you can see in Singapore!

It was raining heavily for more than 4 hours, there are ruts that are more than 1 meter high, it slippery like ice and you barely can wall without falling.

My concern is not to make it difficult enough, my concern is not to shorten the track to much if it rains! The places we are going are very mountanous compared to Johor and I know places where the grade is 40% average during 5kms, climbing from 40ms to 1200ms! If we want to organise the toughest enduro in Asia, we can! The main advantage of Borneo is that we shouldn't have issues with floods and huge river crossing. So if we want to organize a Hellsgate or Romaniac like in Kuching, there is no problem to do that.

The place I spotted for a cross test could become extreme with the rain. So we need backup for everything. The enduro test (which is just by a road can be done regardless of the conditions (to confirm with the 3rd part which is hilly and may become quite difficult)

If there are expert, we have special passages that are just beside the main track and that are quite extreme and would become hell under the rain. Another apspect his the humidity which is a bit higher than Johor so best condition are with light rain but then the clay becomes like ice, I got stuck with my pick-up on a small slope even with 4x4 and All-terrain tires. The car was simply sliding down even fulll power on low gears. Only the Simex Extreme 35" and the 300Hp of my Toy can pull you out of this.
Also the 80kms loop could be done 2 times by the average riders and 3 times by the experts + additionnel extra passages. This would be as well 7 tests in a day.

First day will be a warm up in private area not far from Kuching. We can trace either a X-country or a extreme test. Same thing, expert part, rooky part.
But globally this will be a race against the chronometer, not an X-country.

Thanks for your feedbacks
Olivier