TV.. Wait!! ME!!.. well yes, sometimes it happens, especially when you find something of your interest, and I found a show, reality TV, which I am fond of watching like Big Boss, and others, but this one was not just easy show, but a skill-pattern show, and it came on Discovery Channel. So here’s my review of the Reality TV show ‘WORLD’S TOUGHEST TRUCKER’ season 1, which was originally premiered on Channel 5 in UK on 6 January 2012, and later on aired on Discovery Channel in US and India. It is produced by Dragonfly Productions and GroupM Entertainment.
Concept: Truck drivers, who will be selected, will have to take part in race held across all over the world and on world’s toughest roads and one will emerge as winner, who will get US$ 150,000 as first prize. More than 60000 truck drivers applied from all over the world, but only top 8 got the chance.
Locations: the first season chose following locations where these truck drivers has to drove their trucks – Australia, Brazil, Canada, Mongolia and India.
Participants/Drivers: (in order of their final ranking starting with the winner)
1.Stuart Barnes (Billericay, Essex, England): This guy is quite cool off the mind, and play as per the rules, and he is cunning by the way, to win if he has to throw his partner out, he try his best. He won the season. He stands 2nd in the semi-final round with 58 pts.
2.William ‘Rookie’ Weekly (Mobile, Alabama, USA): This guy from America came 2nd, but he is short-of-temper and probably divorced. He lost his temper easily and didn’t concentrate fully while driving, and fought with his partner driver, and he was probably the weakest contender out of 3, and he stands at 3rd position in the semifinal with 58 pts.
3.Derek Martin (Waterdown, Ontario, Canada): This guy was the best participant in the 1st season, and I kind of liked him because of his coolness. He never indulged in any fight and remains calm-headed throughout the whole series. In the semi-final round, he stands at 1st position with 60 pts, and got selected in the final 3.
4.Mike Thomas-Clark (Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Scotland): He was a bald guy, but he is also short-tempered, though at many times he was cool and calm. In the semifinal-race he was already out-of-question to clear to the top 3 places, still he tries his best, and because of his effort, he pulled Rookie (his partner in the semi-final race) to get a place in finals, though Stuart also tried to remove his last partner Rodney, which also helped.
5.Jason Johnson (Detroit, Michigan, USA): The black guy from USA is full-of-temper and will be counted as top 2 angry drivers in the season alongwith Rookie; he got out in the semi-final with 50 pts.
6.Rodney Johnson (Bakers Hill, Perth, Australia): This guy tries his best to get through but unable to clear the semi-finals and got last position with 50 pts. He never liked Rookie, and always complaint about Rookie’s-american-style-behaviour.
7.Shane Smart (Harrogate, Tennessee, USA): He got eliminated in the first elimination round, alongwith the 8th number. His final points were 12 after 2 races, same as Zola.
8.Zola Rajapakse (Wellawatta, Colombo, Sri Lanka): Strong built-up of body and unable to cope up with different partners, he also saw the door in the first elimination, after a not-so-good partnership with Shane.
Format: There were devised 8 races in all, each race comprises of driving for 3 days with halting at night at some location midway. Each time the drivers were given the trucks perfected for the location, and the work they had to do, the task at hand, and they were accompanied by a partner, means – 4 teams of 2 drivers each, points will be equally shared. 1st team will get 10, 2nd will get 8, 3rd team will get 6 and 4th team will get 4 points; points will be equally divided for 2 drivers. Not always the race means coming first in time duration, but you’ll have to deliver the loads to the destination, then there are rules like if you drive fast, you’ll get penalty of time, if you hit or met an accident, you’ll get penalty of time etc., and yes you have to complete your race. In this season, all 8 competed in 2 races, after which 2 were eliminated. Then remaining 6 competed for next 5 races, 5th one was a semifinal and which saw the elimination of 3 more drivers, and in the final 3 drivers performed alone, but each got a neutral local partner (navigator) to support.
Race Locations: - Races held in different locations – 2 races each in Australia and India, 1 race each in Canada, Brazil, Mongolia. Total 8 races, and each race comprises of 3-day driving, with semifinal and final occurring in India.
Semifinal Race: Held in India. Work Given: They have to deliever potato weighed 8 ton in each truck and they have to travel from Kanpur to Lauri, to deliever it to a wholesale seller. Trucks given: TATA 6-cylinders 1616 model. Route to follow: 1st day: From Kanpur to Orai (150 km) travel passing busy roads of Bhognipur, 2nd day: From Orai to Banda (180 km)following NH91 and then driving on non-existing road nicknamed “sadko ka nat”, 3rd day: From Banda to Lauri (95 km). They have to follow Indian roads in Indian traffic, and as you remember its right-hand side driving here where all of them are expert of left-hand side driving. Partners: Stuart-Rodney, Derek-Jason and Mike-Rookey. Highlights: They complaint about Indian traffic, “person and animals walking on road, no traffic rules, hot and humid conditions”. Two trucks got stuck in between on 1st day itself because of technical faults in the truck’s engine. These trucks belongs to Stuart and Derek’s team, where local mechanics are able to fix Stuart’s truck, but due to time loss Derek and Jason didn’t completed 1st day race because when their trucks got fixed its late into the evening, and they didn’t want to risk driving in nights. On 2nd day, Derek-Jason just survived an accident and just scraped a PWD truck coming from front, when they were overtaking another truck going in front of their truck.
Final Race: Held in India: Work Given: To deliever 600 earthen pitchers from Joginder Nagar Bodh Math to Rakcham Bodh Math in HP Trucks given: TATA 6-cylinder 1616 model. Route to follow: Himalayan outback, travelling 6500 mts high on mountainous roads. 1st day: Joginder Nagar Bodh Math – Mandi (80 km), 2nd day: From Bali Chowki to Lahori (80 km) passing Jalori Pass, 3rd day: From Rampur to Rakcham (70 km) over mountainous roads. Partners: Each driver will drive separate trucks, but they got 1 partner from local drivers, and these 3 local partners will be swapped each day. Highlights: On 1st day, from a diversion-point, Derek and Rookie went to the wrong way, and then they turn back to follow the correct one. After crossing bridge on Vyas River in Mandi, they have to turn left for hotel but Derek took a right turn, and came 3rd even when he was 2nd in position earlier. On 2nd day Rookie got stuck in traffic and about to hit a jeep with is truck. On 3rd day, Rookie just saves himself after bringing his truck to the edge of road, below which he can only fall in valley. Stuart took extra time to show his trucks papers at the RTO checkpost. Derek got stuck on a narrow bridge crossing the valley. Stuart delivered 530 pitchers safely in 17hrs 42 min drive taking minimum time and become the winner, Rookie delivered 499 pitchers in 20hrs 13 min time and Derek delivered 475 pitchers in 18 hrs 50 min.
8 drivers drove approx. 2700 km in 8 races across 5 countries in 24 days.
contd below..
