Croatia Trophy is one of the toughest and most demanding off-road races. Water, mud and often bad weather conditions test crews and vehicles. For a week it is a continuous challenge with the difficulties of the race courses, with oneself, with the unexpected, with the breakages and with the best European crews. All this has contributed to the birth and growth of the legendary fame of this competition which is counted among the toughest in Europe.

Photography and story by Paolo Baraldi

Every year, the best European extreme off-road teams have crossed the borders of Croatia not to go on vacation but, like modern gladiators, to challenge each other along the insidious trackss of the Croatia Trophy.

The legendary fame of Croatia Trophy is known to all, as it is known to all that it is one of the toughest European extreme off-road competitions. Those who have never been there can only imagine it and in this case the imagination cannot match reality.

It is difficult to try to describe the emotions, the fatigue and the difficulties of the Croatia Trophy. The Croatia Trophy is famous for water and mud, lots of water and lots of mud, which test every day both teams and vehicles. But the Croatia Trophy is not just that. The Croatia Trophy is also physical and mental exhaustion, it is cooperation between driver and co-driver and it is knowing how to interpret and read the road book with the meters that relentlessly leap forward in the deep swamps. In short, the Croatia Trophy is a constant struggle; a struggle with oneself to get to the end of the day, a struggle to preserve the vehicle for the following day and a psychological struggle to overcome unexpected difficulties.

Only those who manage their resources, their team and their vehicle in the best way can have the hope of seeing the finish line. But even this joy is not easy to achieve. A deep and infernal river or an impregnable swamp, a few meters from the finish, can stop the teams from crowning all their efforts.

For all these reasons, the mere fact of participating in the Croatia Trophy means reaching an important sporting goal and the mere fact of getting involved in confronting the adversities of nature, with the pitfalls of the course and with the best international teams is a sign worth.

The Race Director and course designer of the Croatia Trophy has always been Igor Božiković assisted by the Auto Club 92. Igor, as a former policeman, appears as a martial and impenetrable person. Only with the passage of time, if you have the opportunity and the luck to get to know him better, a whole other person is discovered: a man proud of his life, his experiences and his passions with a kind soul and a heart as big as the fame of his race.

Igor Božiković is respected and esteemed by everyone, not so much for his tall and robust physique but for his reputation as a good organizer, fair and correct person.

From a person like Igor Božiković, it could only be born a tough and demanding competition where the victory must be earned with value on the race field. A competition with values of the past, where respect and passion, the real one, are the pillars on which the Croatia Trophy stands.

"leave everything behind" is the motto of the Croatia Trophy. Like those who enter Dante's hell, those who participate in the Croatia Trophy must leave everything behind, free themselves from all certainties and prepare to face the difficulties of the race with a new spirit that can have the only guiding light to achieve success that of passion and determination.

First edition of the Croatia Trophy took place in 2000 with departure from Karlovac, a city in the north-west of Croatia, capital of the homonymous region, and finish in Umag, the westernmost municipality in Croatia located in the Istrian region.

In the early years, until 2003, the Croatia Trophy was an itinerant race starting in the surroundings of Karlovac and arriving in various Dalmatian towns. The latest edition of this itinerant series arrived on the sea in Zadar, renowned for the Roman and Venetian ruins that are part of its peninsular historical center.

In 2004 the race partially ceased its itinerant identity with only 2 base camps: departure from Vojnič (Karlovac region), base camp 1 at the Petrova Gora monument and base camp 2 on the hills west of Dvor (central Croatia in the region of Sisak and Moslavina).

Since 2005 the base camp has become one near the Petrova Gora monument in the Karlovac region.

From 2006 to 2017, the Croatia Trophy base camp moved to Topusko in the Sisak and Moslavina region. Tokusko has become in the common imagination as the home of the Croatia Trophy and is the place where the most important moments of this race were celebrated.

If there was only one category in the early years of the Croatia Trophy, 2 categories have been established since 2010: Trophy and Adventure.

2018 sees the suspension of scouting due to a strong blizzard in the first days of March with trees cut down and the impossibility of proceeding with the drafting of the road books. Igor Božiković was forced to cancel the event.

In 2019 the Croatia Trophy takes place in a new location near Petrinja, a central Croatian city close to Sisak. The headquarters of the competition was set up at an ex-school made available by the local administration with offices, press rooms, warehouse, canteen, kitchen, bathrooms, showers and bars.

In 2019, a third of the two existing categories (Trophy and Adventure) has been added: the Legend categories is dedicated to vehicles with a light preparations that do not alter their factory characteristics.

2019:

1° Jim Marsden & James Ayre

2° Helder Da Rocha & Flavio Gomes

3° Vallo Sassi & Ats Tsupsman

2018: (no race)

2017:

1° Tarvo Klaasimae & Kjur Oiala

2° Hardo Mere & Joonas Oja

3° Joel Purga & Lauri Junkin

2016:

1° Andrey Ponomarev & Sergey Ivanov

2° Kalmar & Eigner

3° Szilard Magyar & Krisztian Kovacs

2015:

1° Jim Marsden & Wayne Smith

2° Andrey Ponomarev & Sergey Ivanov

3° Szilard Magyar & Mihaly Eigner

2014:

1° Christian Propask & Josef Reinisch

2° Christian Uhlig & Stefan Maushardt

3° Antoine Reul & Benoit Reul

2013:

1° Csaba Boros & Mihaly Eigner

2° Szilard Magyar & Krisztian Kovacs

3° Roman Kulbak & Arkadiy Aronov

2012:

1° Alexey Golubev & Imre Poom

2° Csaba Boros & Mihaly Eigner

3° Hendrik De Nijs & Andries De Nijs

2011:

1° Jim Marsden & Wayne Smith

2° Hendrik De Nijs & Andries De Nijs

3° Simon Buck & Matthew Cook

2010:

1° Thomas Shuker & Jasmin Moll

2° Lorenzo Savini & Romeo Manzan

3° Csaba Boros & Konya Zoltan

2009:

1° Mark Eyckens & Jo Raemen

2° Thomas Shuker & Jasmin Moll

3° Burkhard Eggeman & Dennis Nedobitkin

2008:

1: Thomas Shuker & Jasmin Moll

2° Harald Seyfried & Gerald Haidinger

3° Jim Marsden & Chris Abel

2007:

1° Mark Eyckens & Jo Raemen

2° Dany Vanbegin & Walter Swaenepoel

3° Harald Seyfried & Dieter Gilnreiner

2006:

1° Dariusz Luberda & Szymon Polak

2° Simon Van Der velde & Peter Arends

3° Jadranko Kovac & Slavko Povrlisek

2005:

1° Simon Van Der Velde & Peter Arends

2° Thomas Shuker & Jasmin Moll

3° - - -

2004:

1° Simon Van Der Velde & Peter Arends

2° Mark Eyckens & Daniel Molemans

3° - - -

2003:

1° Henrik Strasser & Michael Kuerbs

2° - - -

3° - - -

2002:

1° Maurice Ubachs & Maurice Van Weersch

2° Henrik Strasser & Michael Kuerbs

3° - - -

2001: (no race)

2000:

1° Friedrer Schwartz & Schwartz

2° Maurice Ubachs & Maurice Van Weersch

3° Eibl & Zach

2019:

1° Sjoerd Wijnia & Eric Plomp

2° Urmas Uffert & Kaido Kallavus

3° Franck Daurelle & Francoise Hollender

2018: (no race)

2017:

1° Simone Cognini & Andrea Aguzzi

2° Filippo Morandini & Samuele Morganti

3° Eric Plomp & Johan Van Der Maas

2016:

1° Joel Purga & Lauri Junkin

2° Mere & Lippasaar

3° Metsis & Mumme

2015:

1° Victor Stolyarchuk & Maxim Kamishow

2° Alexander Tyurin & Nataliya Tyurina

3° Romain Porchere & Anthony Nolin

2014:

1° Victor Stolyarchuk & Maxim Kamyshow

2° Aleksey Bogodistov & Vladimir Kotelnikov

3° Alexander Tyurin & Nataliya Tyurina

2013:

1° Victor Stolyarchuk & Alexey Shokin

2° Aleksey Bogodistov & Vladimir Kotelnikov

3° Alexander Tyurin & Nataliya Tyurina

2012:

1° Victor Stolyarchuk & Alexey Shokin

2° Georg Lach & Christoph Mostler

3° Janez Krivic & Klemen Krivic

2011:

1° Yuri Selifonov & Dmitry Sokolov

2° Georg Lach & Christoph Mostler

3° Mark Vinck & Pascal Sanders

2010:

1° Yuri Selifonov & Alexander Nadkin

2° Robert Gall & Edwin Berger

3° Stephan Färber & Susanne Färber

2019:

1° Vladimir Krechitov & Igor Chernenko

2° Steven Giusti & Mirko Alba

3° Arthur Toumanov – Uladzimir Rudnitski