WHEN it comes to harnessing modern technology to physical endeavour, then Andy Dacey is the man to have on your side.
The jovial Welshman is equally at home integrating GPS systems on to a laptop mapping programmes, lopping down trees or teaching others how to get the best out of their 4 x 4 – a skill which he puts to good use by training a number of drivers who have to go off-road for a living.
For Andy, there is no such thing as a problem. Any obstacle put in front of him is taken as a challenge – and challenges are simply there to be taken on and conquered. That feisty determination might have something to do with the four-year spell he had with the Army Reserve, his degree in graphic design or his background in tree surgery. There again, it might not.
It was the tree surgery which fuelled Andy’s interest in the 4 x 4 scene – 90 per cent of the forestry sites he worked on could only be reached by an off-road vehicle and, Andy being Andy, he took it upon himself to test the vehicles to their limit and beyond, accessing terrain that none of his colleagues dared to venture over. So it was a natural progression from there for Andy to become involved with the Camel Trophy. He was a member of the 1990 British team that went to Siberia and then took over as convoy co-ordinator in subsequent Camel events.
Since then, Andy has moved on to the next level and his involvement in Wildtrackers adds another dimension to this formidable team of experts in the exciting world of off-roading.
