Hummer Guy Hummer News and Opinion from an experienced off-road instructor
I’ve been to many HUMMER Happenings across the United States – and even though some of these events were impressive, they’ve all been out-done by our European neighbors. While a typical jaunt in the U.S. may involve a weekend trip to Moab, it’s not uncommon for HUMMER events in the Czech Republic to involve 6000 mile trips across two continents.
Mila Janacek publishes OffROAD magazine in the Czech Republic, and his friend and business partner Martin Mikulencak is a HUMMER dealer in Prague. As a championship off-road racer who competes in many events, including the 2007 African Dakar rally, Janacek knows his way around that part of the world with a four wheel drive. This made him the perfect organizer for Mikulencak’s HUMMER Club events.
Some events were relatively simple, like a trip to Morocco, Iceland, or Tunisia. Others were more of an endurance test. In 2008 Janacek lead a 16 day HUMMER expedition through Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Russia, Finland, Norway, Sweden, and from Denmark made their way back to the Czech Republic. That trip would end up being much more leisurely than the club’s 2009 trek.
The next endurance run for the HUMMER Club was the “Budapest – Bamako” event – which is actually a rally race. It begins in Hungary, and about 6,200 miles later, ends in Mali, Africa. Seven nearly-stock HUMMER H2s set off on the two week challenge, and out of 220 competitors, five of them finished in the top 20. After the race, a few minor maintenance items like dusty air filters were the only repairs needed. “That can be taken as a great success with stock cars,” says Janacek.
So the next time you’re planning a HUMMER off-road event, ask yourself, “WWJD?” (i.e. What Would Janacek Do?) And let us know when to show up!
