The Global Stars are going to the Gobi desert.
Being a team that likes to explore the World and meet new challenges we have the opportunity to trail blaze bringing formation and aerobatic flying to many new audiences. Without doubt our next mission is very interesting and will certainly be very hard work, and its in the only place not populated with tower blocks in China 🙂
The Alxa Challenge is a true petrol head event in the deserts of Mongolia. The organisers wishing to expand the appeal of the festival have invited the Global Stars, AeroSuperBatics & Pioneer teams. Patty Wagstaff will also be joining us to fly a solo in the Global Stars Extra 300L. Alexis Delafosse will be flying the Aviad.com Husky demonstrating banner towing. In addition to the flying there will be an aviation conference when both Mark and Patty have been invited to speak. The subjects being competition aerobatics and the International air display pilot.
The core event is “Paris – Dakar” style race format with massive 4 x 4 cars and scramble bikes. However thats not all. The evenings are a true festival, BBQ style food markets, Music and camping. Temperatures in October are usually a high of 12’c and lows of 4’c or a touch of frost. The lower temperatures will help off set the altitude power losses at 4500ft.
Alxa or Alashan League is located at the west end of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. It is adjacent to Mongolia in the north, adjoins the Great Wall in the south, neighbours on the Yellow River in the east, and leans against the Hexi Corridor in the west. Our playground is approx 80km west of the town.
A similar motor rally in 2016 attracted over 50 teams with 120 racers from China and abroad to the competition, which will cover challenging, sparse desert landscapes on unforgiving rocky roads.
The nine-day competition will span a distance of more than 3,900 kilometers. Racers start in Baotou and will travel through many other cities and counties in Inner Mongolia before they enter Northwest China’s Gansu province and the Ningxia Hui autonomous region. The final leg finished in Alxa Left Banner helping make the area famous for motor sports.
As the only cross-province motor-rally in China, it has been recognised by the Federation International Automobile (FIA), and known as one of the longest and toughest motor contests in the world.
In this area of 270,000-square-kilometer live 28 ethnic groups including Han, Mongolian and Hui people. Reputed as the ‘hometown of camel’, Alxa is abundant in two-humped camel and the white down producing goat.
The area is a tourist paradise, attracting visitors by its brilliant ethnic culture, unique desert landscape and plentiful historical relics.
Lying in the hinterland of the Asia, being encircled by mountains and far away from the sea contributes to the typical continental climate of Alxa. Generally, it is short of rain while the wind is strong and sandy, thus the weather is always dry. The difference in temperature between day and night is large. The annual average temperature is 6 to 8.5 degrees Centigrade (42.8 to 47.3 degrees Fahrenheit); the lowest temperature -36.4 degrees Centigrade (-33.5 degrees Fahrenheit) is in January while the highest temperature 41.7 degrees Centigrade (107 degrees Fahrenheit) is in winter.
History
Alxa region is one of the birthplaces of human beings. The Mandela Mountain Rock Paintings that was carved 6,000 years ago vividly depicted the ancestors’ daily life. Having a profound history, Alxa has many historical sites and precious cultural relics, such as the ancient Badan Jaran Desert and Helan Mountain where emperors of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) left their inscriptions.
A few images pre event. We display over the lake, it wont be populated!
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