After 5 solid days of what must be the toughest motorsport endurance competition in the country, Rotorua based driver Sam Baddeley with his Melbourne based navigator Steven Hudson in the ‘Hella’ Toyota Landcruiser, have taken out the title of the 2006 Kiwi Challenge Champions.

Not only do teams have to punish themselves every day for five days in the worst 4wd conditions possible, they then have to camp out in the competition area and cater themselves for every meal when they can.  The only civil pleasures given by the event is the supply of toilets, showers and water.

Competitors have had to endure the most extreme weather conditions from scorching sun on day one, to torrential rain and storms for the following three days, and then a respite in the weather to fine conditions on the final day overall.

Fifteen stages were able to be run overall, with three pulled due to weather conditions.  The stages were the hardest and most unforgiving in the sports history to the unprepared or inexperienced.  Stage 3 alone only had four out
of the total 19 competitors complete the entire lap, taking two days to get them
all through.

The stages were a mix of high speed, technical, hill climbs, water, mud, rocks and deep ruts that could wreck a team and their vehicle in a moments notice.  None of the stages are drivable apart from the night stages, every single one required the teams to winch themselves out of horrible places to try and get to the finish box before the stage time ran out.  Without doubt it pushed them physically and mentally to the edge.

Full results will be posted on www.warlordautosports.com by Monday the 30th of October 2006.