Mud, tight trees, and massive elevation changes wear on both racers and machines.
The thought of visiting Transylvania might immediately send you scrambling for a handful of garlic, as the mere mention of the word evokes a fear of Dracula, the fictional character in Bram Stoker’s 1897 horror novel. However, the real Transylvania—translated to “beyond the forest” in Latin—is primarily characterized by gorgeous landscapes, including forests, mountains, and gnarly terrain that defies description. Transylvania, Romania is also home to the toughest ATV race in the world, known affectionately as Hunt The Wolf.
The concept of Hunt the Wolf is simple. On five consecutive days (and one day for testing), racers navigate roughly 50-80 kilometers per day, from point A to point B, with the help of a GPS unit that daily tracks are uploaded to. Seems simple right?
The GPS tracks take competitors through lush green meadows, quaint villages, and through a multitude of trails similar to what most seasoned riders might ride on a normal Sunday afternoon. However, the other 99 percent of the course separates the proverbial men from the boys with massive snow drifts; off cambers that nearly flop the ATVs on their sides; and hilly grades so steep they require winching or walking with the machines. There are also log and brush piles, and rock gardens that constantly try to swallow the machines whole.
Off-cambers steep enough to roll the ATVs on their sides litter the Transylvanian countryside.
American racer Rick Cecco walks his rented Can Am Outlander down a hill too steep to ride.
For the first eight years, Hunt The Wolf was dominated by Europeans, with outstanding representation from countries like Romania, Germany, Poland, and Italy. In 2015, that changed when the first American competitor, Rick Cecco, took a trip across the pond and managed to finish second in the Extreme Class on a Cam Am Outlander that he rented from the race promoter.
As fellow Pennsylvanians (not Transylvanians), Rick and I have known each other for nearly twenty years, competing in various series and events all over the country. Rick raced in the woods, on motocross tracks, in the desert, and in every sort of weather condition possible. So, when a seasoned pro like Rick responds with “the fear of death” when asked what the most difficult part of the race to deal with was, you know Hunt The Wolf is the real deal.
The ability to winch on the steepest hills is critical.
The 2016 event marks the 10th anniversary of Hunt The Wolf, as competitors will return to Transylvania from May 16-21 to roll the dice again. American Rick Cecco will return to Romania for another crack at the title. However, this time he’s planning to race a Can Am Renegade that he’s currently building. He plans to ship it halfway across the world in ready-to-race form. Rick’s Renegade engine uses the bottom end from a Renegade 800, with Can Am Maverick UTV heads punched out to 840cc, and a special Can Am racing engine control unit (ECU). This engine, assembled by Rick, will provide enough power for the endless climbs, but deliver the reliability he needs for success.
Racing Hunt The Wolf is above the skill level of the average rider. But it’s also one of those events—like the Baja 500/1000, King of the Hammers, or the Paris-Dakar Rally—that compels the fiercest competitors to embrace an insane ATV challenge.
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