Race Details

Dates: 5th to 15th September
No. Nights: 9 (2 camping)
No. Days: 10 (8 racing days & 2 rest days)
No. Teams: 25
No. Participants: 55
Total Km’s: 1,200


The ride: Standard issue Indian made, Sri Lanka modified Auto Rickshaw

An auto rickshaw is generally characterized by a sheet-metal body or open frame that rests on three wheels, a canvas roof with drop-down sides, a small cabin in the front of the vehicle for the driver (called an auto-wallah in India), and seating space for three in the rear. They are generally fitted with an air-cooled scooter version of a two-stroke engine, with handlebar controls instead of a steering wheel. The triangular form of the auto also makes maneuvering easy, with the front single wheel negotiating the available gap, and the rear two wheels forcing a larger space.

Auto rickshaws are light vehicles and only two or three people are required to fully lift one off the ground, which may be necessary when one breaks down and it probably will.

Auto rickshaws have a top-speed of around 50 km/h (about 31 mph) and a cruising speed of around 35 km/h (22 mph). Traffic authorities in big cities try to implement different mechanisms to circumvent the resulting traffic slow-down issues; however, none of these have really proven to work out.

Source: (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autorickshaw)

Race details :
So… you have seen what you are going to be doing for 10 days in Sri Lanka and you’ve seen what you’re going to be doing it on. Now its time to get to the business end of this chaos:

It’s a race- 90% of the challenge
The Lanka challenge is a race and it’s as simple as that! The race will be broken up into legs, as per the route , the team to get from the start to finish of each leg in the shortest possible time will win the leg and carry the notorious yellow jersey forward to the following days leg. The team to finish the Lanka Challenge in the shortest possible time will be declared winners and have the most prestigious title in the world for one whole year: “Lanka Challenge Champions”.

Culture Shock- 10% or the challenge
We do realize that some of you will strive for the title of champions from day one but please do consider that one small (but crucial) aspect of the challenge comes in the form of cultural challenges. Each day there will be a number of challenges (maximum 5 per leg) that will need to be completed by each team in order to complete the remaining 10% of the challenge. The challenges may involve some interaction with the locals or even climbing to the top of a king coconut tree to pick the most succulent fruit. Either way if you want to complete 100% of the challenge you will need to complete all challenges on each leg in order to avoid time deductions.

Awards and prizes:
Apart from receiving the most unique racing trophy in the world and without giving too much away; we can tell you that the winners will automatically receive a complimentary pass for a team of 2 to the following years Lanka Challenge race (yes, this can be transferred to any one).


CHARITY

The Lanka Challenge team has teamed up with several charities and organisations based in Sri Lanka so that all involved can not only have a trip of a life time but also give something back to the wonderful country that we will be visiting. As you will see in the financial section a total of 10% of each teams entry fee will be split evenly between the two main partner charities of the event.

As you all know there are countless charities and NGO’s that claim to provide care and financial support to millions of people around the world although the majority of them fail to deliver promises made and unfortunately get tied up with what we like to call “bureaucracy of our time”. As we are a very small organization we have tried to counter act this; we will endeavor to provide information of specific amounts along with specific projects that are needed “here and now”. We will be donating all amounts in person along the route and as participants you will all be involved in some way or another in facilitating this and making sure that all money raised goes to the right people.

You don’t need to be news savvy to realize that Sri Lanka is not a country free from strife and suffering. We do not get involved with any Politics in Sri Lanka and there will be no special treatment to any one tribe/religion/race. As participants you are encouraged to be involved in any charity related aspect of this race and at any time you are welcome to approach us and discuss/question our choice of charity and indeed make any recommendations in this regard

visit wwww.lankachallenge.com for more information and to sign up .

http://www.capetownalive.co.za...s-talking-about.html