1985 BORNEO CAMEL TROPHY [español]

Winners: Heinz Kallin and Bernd Strohdach (West Germany) Team Spirit: Carlos Probst and Tito Rosenberg (Brazil) Trucks: Land Rover Ninety (competitors), Land Rover One Ten (support) In 1985, the event returned to Indonesia, this time to Borneo, the world's third-largest island. Borneo would host three Camel Trophies (including one on the Malaysian side of the island), and Indonesia as a nation, four. This would also be the largest Camel Trophy to date, with 16 teams from eight countries—Japan, Brazil, and the Canary Islands making their debut. This year, the competitors would use the new Land Rover Ninety, while the support team would use the One Ten. Borneo returned to the jungle atmosphere of Sumatra in 1981 and Papua New Guinea in 1982 with the Borneo Trek. The journey began in the coastal city of Samarinda. The Camel Trophy teams came from all walks of life, from musicians to F-16 pilots to a pizzeria owner. They had all gone through the long and arduous process of applying and qualifying for the event, which at that time received half a million applications annually worldwide. Once again, it was the rainy season, which, while the previous year's rains had caused additional problems in the Amazon, at least made for some good filming. It was also an exceptionally rainy year, and the trucks spent a lot of time underwater—enough to become known as "yellow submarines" among the traveling group. The route was constantly being altered, as the roads that had been explored and mapped had been completely washed away by the torrential downpours. There were also natural problems, particularly insects. From fire ants to mosquitoes, bedbugs to wasps, Borneo's natural order was not designed to accommodate the Camel Trophy. The challenging, vanished roads led to one of the most iconic moments in Camel Trophy history. With no possibility of building a bridge, fording a road, or otherwise traversing the destroyed highway, management made a major appeal to continue the adventure. The heavy-lift helicopter that had been used to resupply the convoy was called in, and Teams Ninety and Ten were lifted across the gap to safety. To reduce the weight of the heavy trucks, doors and cargo were removed and transported separately. At times, inflatable rafts carried by the convoy were also used to wade across the water, instead of using local ferry services or constructing a raft from logs. The grueling journey, one of the toughest in history, finally ended in the coastal town of Balikpapan after several detours. It had been an incredibly challenging Camel Trophy, and for the first time, the natural environment had more or less prevailed over the teams. One day, the convoy advanced only 300 meters after hours and hours of work. Many trucks overturned, and there were numerous mechanical difficulties that had to be resolved with ingenuity. But the 1985 Camel Trophy ended, with the West Germans winning the race, and the new Brazilian team taking home the Team Spirit award for their positive attitude that helped everyone pull through. Participants: Belgium 1 - Philippe Goblet & Hubert Callens Belgium 2 - Jean-Claud Decraene & Wilfried van der Kalen Brazil 1 - Osmar Eugenio Kretschek & Luis Aylton Casertani Brazil 2 - Carlos Probst & Tito Rosenberg (Team Spirit Award) Canary Islands - Fernando Rebull & Jose Antonio Reyes West Germany 1 - Heinz Kallin & Bernd Strohdach (Camel Trophy) West Germany 2 - Georg Michael Diehl & Jurgen Meinig Holland 1 - Arie Plugers & Will Walters Holland 2 - Jouke Eikelboom & Gerrit Oudenampsen Italy 1 - Flavio Dematteis & Stefano Gasi Italy 2 - Roberto Ive & Beppe Gualini Japan 1 - Kunio Takagi & Fukumu Uzuta Japan 2 - Hirotaka Shimamura & Gentaro Izumitani Spain - Javier Casasus Lattore & Jaime Masferrer Ordis Switzerland 1 - Bruno Camenzind & Urs Beer Switzerland 2 - Werner Ehrsam & Werner Paul Buhrer