"For a really good competition going you need a plot of land that measures between two to six square kilometers and has a variable terrain. In the past we have used private land, but it can work out quite expensive," Chen said. "Recently we've taken to working with local authorities and asking them to grant us access to public land."
The sport and its use of public land is not without it critics, many of whom believe the driving of large over-powered cars across large swaths of land is both harmful to the environment as well as putting the lives of hikers in danger. But these are accusations that drivers such as Hong and Wu dismiss as unfounded.
"Sure, there are people who do drive on public land that is accessed by hikers, but we [the association] never race on any land that has not first been cleared by local authorities," Hong said. "We never drive anywhere near hikers and all the races are well sign-posted with warnings so people don't endanger themselves and walk on the tracks."
In his nearly 10 years behind the wheel of over-powered off-roaders Wu has never run a foul of a hiker and neither has he inadvertently destroyed arable land. Based out of Shulin in Taipei County, Wu and the other members of his club ensure that the land they drive on is either void of humans or is simply inaccessible to ramblers.
"Hikers in Taiwan stick to trails, very few go off and roam around in uncharted mountainous areas, so the chances of running into anybody are very slim," said the 70-year old driver. "All the tracks we use are carefully vetted before-hand and we ensure we drive in places where nobody else would want to go."
With this season's off-road courses already chosen by the respective local authorities and, according to Chen, guaranteed to be both hiker-free and incredibly testing on both drivers and their cars, all that remains to be determined are the results.
As for which team will walk away with top honors this year? Chen reckons Team Marine and its six full-time drivers will once prove triumphant, while team manager Hong is less optimistic.
"There's a lot of competition this season and I wouldn't like to make assumptions as to which team will win," said the Team Marine boss. "We'll just have to wait and see which drivers and clubs come out on top."
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