Arctic Midnight Sun

Crews will start the day with the knowledge that by the time they reach the final control in Jokkmokk, they will have both entered Lapland and crossed the Arctic Circle. Along the way we will have visited two motorsport centres for some interesting manoeuvrability tests, one of which describes itself as the ‘World’s most northerly race track’.

After an overnight halt which really is situated in the land of the Midnight Sun, we continue to push further north. We are now in really remote countryside and that presents the route planners with challenges as there are so few roads in the area. We will stop for lunch in Sweden’s most northern city, Kiruna which is also the home of the World’s largest iron ore mine. Competition for the day ends here enabling crews to explore the attractions such as the 540m underground Iron Ore Visitor Centre (must be booked in advance), or the Abisko Sky Station. You’ll also have time to explore the fascinating new city centre which is being relocated to allow further iron ore exploration. The stunning and remote scenery will entertain everyone as we head across the mountains and into Norway enroute to our hotel in Narvik.

A rest day where you are free to relax, explore the city and history of Navik, or push further afield, perhaps towards the scenic and historic Lofoten Islands.

Change is in the air today and for the first time since leaving Gothenburg, the compass will point in a generally southern direction. After an early start, we will also encounter the first of the ferry crossings which form part of everyday life in most parts of Norway. We hop on and off of one of the main highways sandwiched between the mountains and the never ending islands and fjords to arrive for our evening halt at Mo I Rana.

Our journey south continues as we head inland to higher ground before following the river named Namsen to lunch. The route then skirts south of Trondheimsfjorden to arrive in Trondheim itself.

A lighter day for crews with a half day of competition that concludes at lunchtime in the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Roros. The afternoon is free for crews to explore this traditional mountain village and living museum.

We head across country to the west and the Atlantic. Today’s route will discover bridges and tunnels you wouldn’t think possible as we complete a circular route via the famous ‘Atlantic Ocean Road’ to arrive at our overnight destination of Molde.

From Molde, we chase our way around or across the fjords to arrive at the foot of the spectacular Trollstigen (or Troll path), not for the faint hearted or those that suffer from vertigo. Once this challenge is overcome its on to Geiranger where you might see a cruise liner moored up at the head of the fjord, some 110kms from the ocean.

The day starts early with a ferry crossing of the mighty Sognefjord, the largest and deepest in Norway. We then take in the Aurlandsfjellet plateau snow road as we head towards lunch. The afternoon sees a loop north through some particularly impressive scenery to approach Bergen from the north.

The penultimate day of the event starts differently, today is a half day and crews are free to explore the UNESCO world heritage listed city of Bergen during the morning before the event restarts at lunchtime. Once on the road, we head eastwards and across or through the extensively tunnelled high ground to arrive at the ski resort of Geilo.

Our final day starts with a manoeuvrability test before the so important final regularities where places can be won or lost. Its not long before the sights, sounds and traffic of Oslo start to appear and we reach a mid afternoon conclusion to this wonderful event on the water’s edge in Oslo.