Here is a copy of the press release
"Anchorage, Alaska. 4 March, 2024 – INEOS Automotive is celebrating its first rally win in the US and Canadian endurance Alcan 5000 Rally 2024, within the first year of the 4X4 launching. The INEOS Grenadier beat 16 other competitors to claim victory in the Truck/SUV class of the 5,000 mile, 10-day Alcan Rally, with the unmodified vehicle piloted by Andy and navigated by Mercedes Lilienthal of Portland, Oregon.
The Alcan 5000 Rally is a time-speed-distance (TSD) endurance rally. This isn't a race where the fastest team wins, but a precision event where competitors travel on public roads or trails, following specific routes at precisely prescribed rally-designated speeds. Teams with the closest time to their "perfect on-time" win their respective class, meaning vehicles must perform as well on and off-road to succeed.
The event sweeps the far Northwest of the US and Canada, beginning in Kirkland, Washington State, crossing British Columbia, Canada, as well as above Alaska’s Artic Circle, and ending in Anchorage, Alaska, the day before the famous Iditarod Race of mushers and their dog teams. The event features ice roads, ice slaloms, endurance tests and long 14-hour drive days.
Andy Lilienthal, a journalist and the team's driver said, “With temps as low as –32 degrees Fahrenheit, the INEOS Grenadier was a solid performer in every condition we put it in. Its suspension easily soaked up hundreds of miles of frost heaves and potholes, the turbocharged engine had plenty of power to get by slow traffic, and the interior was comfortable and versatile. It was a champ in the deeper snows on the ice slalom competition too. The Grenadier was an excellent vehicle to have on this long and demanding rally. To have this new vehicle on the 40th year of the Alcan 5000 and take top honours in our class was amazing.”
Lynn Calder, CEO of INEOS Automotive, comments, “Mercedes and Andy are true trailblazers that really pushed our Grenadier to the limit and excelled. Watching their journey across 5,000 miles was great fun, even the brutal, competitive endurance tests in the ice and snow. Well done, team!”"
ineosgrenadier.com
