9 November 2009
BRINGING OUT THE BEST OF THE D-MAX - Support again for the Borneo Safari 2009
The Isuzu D-Max once again proved its durability and reliability mettle in the 2009 Borneo Safari that was held in Sabah from October 25th till November 1st. As the media sponsor of the event, Isuzu Malaysia pledged the use of the ‘Monster’, a fond nickname for a specially-prepared Isuzu D-Max that comes complete with a winch, body lift, off-road tyres and snorkel to keep the feet of the occupants nice and dry when the conditions outside become wet and miserable.
The event this time was one of the most challenging in the three years that Isuzu Malaysia had been the sponsor of the event. Eight days deep in the jungles of Deramakot Forest Reserve without contact with the outside world would be a major challenge to both man and machine as it meant paving their way through dense vegetation, muddied slopes and deep gorges between Telupid and Sandakan.The narrow tracks would already pose a fair challenge to most off-road vehicles. But with 150 vehicles plodding through the route, progress would be down to a crawl and there were days when the convoy would only progress a couple of hundred metres the whole day.
As sponsors, Isuzu Malaysia hosted a number of media who would drive and ride in the Monster as the convoy of vehicles progressed. What was apparent was that the vehicle was well up to the task of keeping the media at the forefront of the competition that was going on in the 18 Special Stages (SS) of the competition.
The vehicle’s amazing torque coming from its 3-litre Super Commonrail engine and the simple to use Touch-On-The-Fly transmission system meant that the media had no problems keeping up with the action and they were able to get up close to the proceedings to do their jobs despite the tough road conditions.
Even when the tracks were turned into knee-deep rivers of mud from the deluge of rain the event saw, the Monster made it through without missing a beat, proving once again that durability is its middle name.
In the end, the media came away impressed that the Isuzu D-Max was a true off-road champion, able to gobble up miles and miles of the roughest and toughest tracks in the jungles of Borneo with ease and comfort. As an added bonus, the Monster didn’t even finish up its tank full of diesel throughout the journey, underlying its fuel-sipping nature.
In all, the media came away impressed with the amazing D-Max and its abilities whether on the road or well after the road ends.
