Johan Retters and Oan de Waal (Team 7) were announced as the winners of the 2014 Ranger Odyssey Challenge at a special awards event held at De Rust Outdoor near Hartbeespoort Dam on Wednesday, 15 October.
Consistently strong performances over numerous tasks throughout the 12-day event, 2500km route through Namibia’s Kaokoland saw the duo voted the winners of the grand prize of a Odyssey-spec Ranger each for a year plus R5000 fuel per month for the year.
“Ranger Odyssey 2014 was a tough test of both man and machine,” said Mark Kaufman, Ford’s Vice President Sales, Marketing and Service. “The rugged Kaokoland pushed everyone to their limits, but Johan and Oan excelled throughout the event and are deserving winners. They are great ambassadors for the Ranger and truly embody the Odyssey’s spirit of adventure due to their active outdoor lifestyles.”
Johan Retters (41) from Limpopo is an avid outdoor enthusiast, regularly venturing off the beaten track on 4×4 trips, as well as riding motorcycles and quads. Team-mate Oan de Waal (23) is a adventure athlete from Pretoria, specialising in obstacle course racing, both locally and internationally. He is also an active rock climber.
During the expedition the 20 contestants, divided into 10 teams, were scored daily by the instructors on driving techniques, camp craft, team work, vehicle maintenance, technical knowledge on the Ford Ranger as well as general knowledge on the areas visited. Several special tasks were also staged during the trip including winching and vehicle recovery exercises.
For more information on the Ranger Odyssey go to www.rangerodyssey.com.