Done ...

The Cyber4x4 is now in Makassar. The DCI2006 is officially over. The Cyber4x4 is number 1. Yaay. Number 1 in the 2000cc and below class. Well it should be, its the only car in that class.
Overall the standings are as follows:

1. dr. Totong
2. Hardjanto
3. Cedric (Belgia)
4. Iswandi
5. Arifin
6. Yogi
7. Cyber4x4
8. Andi
9. Tjong
10. Doddy
    

So congratulations to the winners. Definitely no small feat. See you again next year?

We've been crossed...

We have been crossed over to South Sulawesi! We will now approach Malino for 2SCS's and then on to Makassar for the final 2 SCS. Not much has happened, the boat ride was pretty uneventful, we spent the time resting and joking how the Cyber4x4 Suzuki has become a dark horse. Hasta la vista...

Getting Pictures out of the Jungle

Well, you should know how we do this. We are using Inmarsat Technology here. Its called the BGAN. This service was launched at the beginning of the year and its pretty cool. The terminal we are using is the Thrane & Thrane Explorer 500. Its small, light and doesnt need a car battery to power the unit, it has its own little battery.
The unit can get download speeds of up to 432kbps! Thats really nifty in the jungle, where youd be happy with any kind of download speed at all. Uploading is about 384kbps, which is nothing to sneeze at.
Here is a picture of our friend Widi with the terminal.

While waiting for the ferry...

We had 2 SCSs... The SCS location was quite far from our basecamp, it took us a good 3 hours to get there, not including the traffic accident on the way over there. In short, we got there a bit late, so we didnt have enough time to really study the course.
The Cyber4x4 didnt quite make it on one of the SCSs. It was an SCS truly designed for large engined vehicles. It was a very long uphill climb with a medium grade. The small engined Cyber4x4 (Suzuki Jimny in disguise) didnt have enough power to make it all the way. DNF for that one.
The other SCS was a speed route with a very nasty mud bogger at the very end. Only 3 or 4 cars actually finished on this, including the Cyber4x4. It just took us a really long time to get out of the bog.
Right now theres a reception over at the Regent's house, and tonight we will cross by ferry to South Sulawesi at around 11pm (GMT+8).

Coming down the mountain!

We are now on the way to BaseCamp 6 near the beach town of Taborasi. Tomorrow we will have an SCS the we board a ferry to cross over to the province of South Sulawesi. The ferry trip will be about 8 hours, so we will overnight on board. The trip down from the Mekongga mountain was very difficult and slippery, several cars tipped over. No fatalities nor casualties so far. Knock on wood!

last night (10 Dec)

We have reached Base Camp 4, near the peak of Mount Mekonga. Tomorrow we will continue to climb a bit before we begin our descent.
There will be no SCS during this part of the journey, only 25 cars have entered this track. All of us working together to get through this particularly hard section. We expect to clear this section day after tomorrow. All is well.

Geography...

Just so you know where in the world places such as Kendari, Jakarta, Indonesia are...

Thanks to Microsoft Encarta

DCI starts...

Hey, we are back! Things are a bit confusing now, its actually aready day 2 in the competition.
Basically, we had shipped all the cars from Jakarta's Tanjung Priok to Kendari, SE Sulawesi. All the cars arrived safely and now we are here in Sulawesi too.
We have gone through the basic scrutineering to ensure that all cars are in good working condition and have all the necessary bits and pieces to endure the long and arduous journey ahead. We tested the winch, we tested the brakes, we tested steering, checked all the hard points and tiedowns etc. We are ready!

There are a total of 41 vehicles, 17 competitors, 9 motorcycles and the rest being support cars and event officials.

From Kendari we moved on to Kolaka, which is on the western side of South East Sulawesi where we had SCS 1 and 2. SCS 1 was a track best suited for small cars with its twist and turns and breaks. Articulation is a must, otherwise you would have to slow down and lose time. SCS 2, however is a winching game. It is a 3 meter high almost 90 deg vertical wall. Well maybe it was 75 deg, but after several competitors had gone through, it seems more like 90 deg.

After some speeches by city officials, tribal dances, more speeches, we made our way from Kolaka towards Basecamp II, where SCS 3,4,5 will be held. BC II will be close to a river
and the SCS will consist of a Speed SCS, a winching SCS and a tire change SCS.

We're Back!

Friends, cyber4x4 is back on the trails! This time in a super modified Suzuki Jimny with the Diplomat Challenge of Indonesia 2006. We'll post some pictures soon. This time we are using the Inmarsat BGAN, provided by ACeS and PSN. Stay tuned for our posts!
cheers.