Land Rover's iconic dealer-against-dealer skills competition, TReK, returned for its fourth modern edition this year, with a qualifying event held in October and the finals over last weekend's Destination Defender event. A total of 109 Land Rover dealers from across the United States and Canada competed in one-day waves, testing their off-road, problem-solving, and team skills. The Texas showdown was the return of a 27-year tradition, dating back to the first TReK in 1996.
The event went to Texas this year, as part of a three-leg swing of Defender events in the Lone Star State. The Defender Trophy, TReK, and Destination Defender all have been held in the Austin area over the past few weeks, culminating this weekend with Destination Defender, Land Rover’s in-house celebration of everything Defender.
Over 400 retail employees squared off as part of 109 teams representing American and Canadian dealerships. Each team had a custom-built Defender 130, powered with the mild hybrid six-cylinder motor. This year’s vinyl wrap was low-key, with carbon black decals against matte black wrap, and each truck was denoted with a custom badge. Off-road tires, a remote-controlled winch, LED lighting, a high-lift jack, suspension lift, and traction boards rounded out the build.
Each of the ten waves produced a victorious retailer, who duked it out in the Texas sun from November 8-10 for the ultimate TReK champion as part of the Destination Defender event.
TReK is a long-lasting Land Rover tradition, going back to the late 1990s. First run with bright yellow Discovery 1 models, it has also featured P38 Range Rovers and Discovery Series II models. It’s often showcased Land Rover’s Experience centers across America, though it has taken diversions, like this year, onto large, private ranches. After the early 2000s, it took a hiatus until 2019, when in preparation for the launch of the new Defender, an event was run in Asheville, North Carolina with Discovery 5s. The 2020 finals featured pre-production Defender 110s at the early 2020 4xFAR Festival launch event in California, and since then the Defender has been the feature vehicle.
Look out for the announcement about the winner of TReK next issue, alongside our wrap-up of Destination Defender!
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