Four Wheel Drive Club of Sri Lanka

An unprecedented move was inevitable to cancel the NELC 4x4 Event officially due to lack of sponsors and a lack of commitment by competitors for this year's event.

This event was initiated by the FWDC in 2005 by signing a MOU with the Nuwara Eliya Motor Racing Club (NEM) under the purview of his worship the Mayor of Nuwara Eliya.  The financial burden of developing the track was borne by the FWDC throughout the years, and contributions were made towards the club development fund of the NEM and the Mayors fund from the event proceeds.

The NELC is the single event in the FWDC calendar which is of highest cost and requires a monumental logistical operation. NEM being a Motorcycle club is limited with its resources, and 95% work has to be done from Colombo by the FWDC. This year this event being earmarked for a championship event, the FWDC has stepped up its marshalling level to an international standard, and the current conditions falls well short of pulling off such an event.

This is a huge disappointment for the 4x4 fans and for some of the hardcore 4x4 contenders. FWDC is looking into the possibility of looking at an alternate location in Nuwara Eliya, which is a private property, where the fixed costs are considerably low, and an alternate date after the peak rush is off.

It is an irony that despite the 4x4 event drawing the largest crowd during the season, events such as the Motorcycle race, Road Race and Horse races go through their motions with higher priority. It is hoped that the 4x4 sport will be considered as a unique form of motor sport and someday it will have the priority it deserves.

The Much Awaited SLARDAR 1000 4x4 Rally has been postphoned, due to sponsorship constraints faced by the tight economic conditions. The plot of the 1000 km Rally through some harsh 4x4 terrain is in the cards, and the possibility is being explored to slot it in among the SLARDAR calendar.

New dates will be posted as it will be known on this website

Dammith Nissanka, who rose from zero to hero by winning the carlton 4x4 event in Thissamaharama, was felicitated by Tharuninyata Hetak at a special ceromony held on sat 21st March in Colombo.

Dammith was awarded a free entry worth Rs 25,000/- by the Four Wheel Drive Club for the Taprobana 4x4 challenge 2009 to be held on 1st 4th October 2009.

Other well wishers also chipped in, including Exide Batteries awarded 3 x 95 amp batteries valued at 75,000/-, Colonial Motors awarding 50,000/- worth of spares and other clubs following suit to award Dammith with free entries come prove his talent in their events.

Damith Runs a Land Rover Series II with a Nissan TD27 Engine and Drive train with Nissan Front & rear Axles. Which is a simple machine compared to some of the high powered machines in the 4x4 comp circle today. This ceromony enabled him to meet some of the best teams in the 4x4 extreme scene and thus be able to pick up a few more tricks from the veterans.

Veteran 4x4 Driver Indika Sanjaya, and His Co-Driver Naveen Marapana, Registered for the FWDC championship hours after the entries opened for the first championship event this April. Naveen and Indika have experienced the RFC 2006 & 2007, the only Sri Lankan Team to have made it to RFC twice wanted to lead by example to be the first to register for this program, where the winner of the championship will be sent to the start line by the FWDC.

The championship consists of 3 events, 2 circuit events and a 4 day challenge. The circuit events will be run as Special Stages (SS) format, in order to cumilate the scores throughout the championship. Consistancy will be the key to secure the championship.

This duo will be a favourite, and team to watch for as organizers hope to turn the tempo up for the local drivers to get ready for the real thing come this December 5-14 in Johor, Malaysia. We wish them luck 

The Carlton 4x4 event held at Tissamaharama, probably had the biggest upset of the year when it came to the ranking of some of the best off road drivers in the country.

This was an event where there were two classes, a Safari Class and an Extreme class, where the safari class was for the standard vehicles that haul wild life enthusiasts on a full time basis, giving a go at the competition arena. Safari Class winner Dammith, a Series II Land rover on a Nissan D21 Chassis, with stock independent suspension in the front and stock leaves at the back, with a Winch that was constrcted with a starter motor and driven by a bicycle chain, opted to take his chances with the big boys. Later he was classified as an extreme class vehicle as he put up the best timing in both the preliminary round and the final round in the extreme class and clinched the trophy running the 33 x12.50 15 M/T tires.

This act had all the extreme boys scratching their heads and going back to the drawing board. The Four Wheel Drive Club, offered Dammith a free entry for the 4x4 challenge this October to come out and show more of his talent and put more pressure on the already crowded extreme machines family.