North American retailers battle it out as Land Rover TReK returns

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Land Rover North America’s retailer off-road driving competition TReK is back after a 16-year hiatus.

Fifty-three teams representing retailers from across the US and Canada battled it out this week in the preliminary qualifying event at the Biltmore Estate in North Carolina.

Using a specially customised Discovery, each team has competed in a number of off-road driving, navigation and group challenges, as they looked to book their place at the TReK ‘20 Finals in Palm Springs, California in January 2020.

Kim McCullough, Jaguar Land Rover North America’s Vice President of Marketing, said: “We are thrilled to bring back the TReK competition to put our vehicles and the skills of our retailers to the ultimate test.

“This competition is a great way to engage our retailer network, push their off-road driving skills to the max, and have some fun.”

The reintroduction of the competition has been timed to coincide with the return of the Land Rover Defender. Winners of the qualifying event will have the opportunity to put the New Defender to the test at the finals in California.

Originally established in 1996, TReK was based on the iconic Camel Trophy competition and designed to educate and challenge retailer sales, service and technician personnel through a number of immersive experiences.

The ambition was to bolster each retailer’s off-road expertise, and through to 2003 an annual competition was held all over the US. The competition went global in 2001, with South Africa hosting the first ever international TReK.