Torfaera, Iceland's Off-road Mania

(@FahadShabbir)

Torfaera, Iceland's off-road mania

Akranes, Iceland, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 12th Nov, 2019 ) :After more than half a century, revving engines in the tough off-road sport known locally as "torfaera" still draw crowds who love the noise and daring drivers.

It's late summer and Akrafjall mountain, which looms over the small town of Akranes, has been turned into a temporary race track.

Instead of asphalt, rocky terrain dotted with tufts of grass serves as proving grounds for the drivers of 19 purpose-built 4x4 vehicles.

Known internationally as "Formula Offroad," a more direct translation of the Icelandic torfaera is "difficult driving" or "difficult road".

Ahead of the fourth of five rounds of the Icelandic championship, the vehicles, which look like a cross between a jeep and a dune buggy, are being prepared for the challenge.

At the wheel of "Bomban" (The bomb), 30-year-old Olafur Ingjaldsson is a bag of nerves before his first race.

"But it happens so fast that you forget everything. They say you can go and 10-20 seconds later it's over," he tells AFP, in a effort to reassure himself at the same time.

The drivers are only protected by a helmet, a safety harness and the vehicle's reinforced roof.

Racing up and down steep hills, the drivers try to pass through gates and earn points.

Stopping or touching one of the gates results in points being deducted.

Some drivers make the tracks, which include seemingly vertical hill climbs, look effortless, while others get stuck in the dirt or tip over, leaving their cars looking like a turtle on its back.