Over the past few months the forum of Club 80-90 has been buzzing with the possibility of a Syncro-specific event. This came about from a discussion on the Syncro board about holding an event to compete with the likes of Syncro de Mayo that is held on an annual basis in the USA, where there is quite a Syncro scene.

For the uninitiated the VW T3 Transporter and Caravelle Syncros were built by VW with Steyr-Puch in various locations from '84-'91, with production continuing in South Africa for some time after that. Steyr-Puch are renowned for their 4x4 experience and have had a hand in producing other vehicles like the Mercedes G-Wagen and their own Pinzgauer off roaders. The T3 Syncro was a slightly unusual vehicle, not promoted very much by VW, but with exceptionaal off road capabilities.

After a short search for a site a potential home for the first UK Syncro event was found in Mid-Wales. The site was 200 acres with a good field for rough camping, extending into a wind farm at the top of a steep hill. A site inspection on the weekend of the Bustypes event confirmed the site suitability and 80-90 club members continued preparations for the event.

On the evening of July 2nd club members started arriving at the site and the support staff completed a site inspection to define how the site could be used. This involved getting two vehicles stuck in a peat bog during the initial drive round of the site - a warning of things to come perhaps?! The Friday night social was the usual 80-90 mix of drinking and chatting, catching up is very important for an internet-based club. The 'club pub' the Spragmans arms was also erected in the camping field, to provide shelter from the typical Welsh summer.

Not only were there Syncros at the event, there were the 'Syncro-curious' - 2WD T3 owners who wanted to have a ride in and see what the rare Syncros were actually capable of.

On arrival back at the campsite there was excellent news - Clive had made it with his partner Jenny and met us in the field with huge smiles, despite arriving in a Nissan Micra. There's a strong possibility this was a ruse, as a result of being Syncro-less they got to sample the widest range of Syncros during the event, both passengering around the site complete with the biggest of grins.

Post lunch a course was set out on the lower section of the site and a longer session of 'get to know your Syncro' started. Controlled driving on a defined circular course allowed people to really get to grips with how a T3 handles off the beaten track and the growth in confidence was enormously rewarding for the support staff to watch.

The challenge was to see how far the Syncros could drive up a steep and very deeply rutted area of field. A demonstration run by one of the support Land Rovers was very impressive, but did result in the vehicle being recovered (again !).

One by one the assembled Syncros attacked the gully run, each with their individual style. Individuals' attempts were staked out as they tried, with fierce competition to see who would get the furthest. All of the skills from the previous day were put to the test and Syncro after Syncro got as far as they could before losing traction and reversing carefully out with their dignity intact. The final attempt was from the exceptionally tatty double cab fielded by Thomas Cowley, one of the more experienced off roaders of the Syncro drivers. With 15" wheels and mud terrain type tyres with reduced pressure to help traction the Doka tore up the gully, surpassing all of the other Syncros attempts and finally stopped just 3' short of the Land Rover's attempt. More significantly this vehicle didn't have to be recovered and drove out under its own power, albeit shrouded in diesel smoke!