Now in its 5th year running, the PD International Sand Challenge does not offer you the usual 4X4 challenges like jungle bashing, river crossing, rock climbing or getting stuck in deep mud up to your nose. You are not going to destroy your car climbing up steep hills full of huge rocks or scratch your nice paintwork in a bad patch of sharp bamboo. The PD International Sand Challenge does not have any of these. Yet they guarantee you that you will be knocked-out at the end of the day!
This is an ENDURANCE EVENT. Competitors are given 8 hours to complete about 20 Special Stages and there is also the possibility that you will run some SS at night. The PD International Sand Challenge is all about sand. The next nearest sand challenge you can go to is in the deserts of Dubai or Rajasthan. The organisers have created a circuit that will make you eat sand, drink sand and drown in sand. Last year’s event had some competitors complaining that the track was too simple. So this year they have added a lot more and to create some really hard-core special stages and so a recovery vehicle is needed. The best and only choice, Land Rover is having their Defender on standby.
The PD International Sand Challenge Event started in 2012 and is a 5 year challenge where the overall winner will get the Tuanku Muhriz challenge trophy worth RM10,000.00 but each year, the winners will get a trophy plus cash prizes worth up to RM10,000.00. 1st, 2nd and 3rd prizes are RM5,000.00, 3,000.00 and 2,000.00.
The Port Dickson Sand Challenge is organized and run by X – Four Sports, a private company that does 4×4 events, training and expeditions. With the cooperation and support of the Negeri Sembilan state government, they hope to make this year’s event a grand one.
Based in Port Dickson, in the state of Negeri Sembilan, this year’s event will be held on 3 different beaches namely, Selesa, Saujana and Cahaya beaches. February 28 is the registration day and March 1st and 2nd the competition day. This is an endurance event. Participants are given 8 hours on Saturday to complete about 20 SS in the sand. After 8 hours from the start, all the SS will be closed and points will be collected and counted. On Sunday participants will take part in a 3 to 4 km rally on Cahaya beach.
Port Dickson, or PD as the locals call it, is a small coastal resort town about 150 kilometers to the south of Kuala Lumpur, the capital city. There is an excellent 6 lane highway linking the two as well as to the international airport. The airport is about 75 kilometers from PD. There are also numerous coastal and rural routes branching out of PD. Last year the event had foreign teams from Holland, Singapore, Ireland, India, USA and Canada.
