Navigational Training Before The Race – Dream Team In Csobánka

As Defence Minister Dr. Imre Szekeres pointed out at the navigational training, the off-road rally team of the Hungarian Defence Forces, with the help and cooperation of László Palik and his experienced colleagues, has completed a productive period. As a result of their exhausting and persistent work during the past few weeks, they have gained considerable experience regarding the technical background of racing and driving techniques, skills.

The defence minister introduced the selected race pilot of the team, Sergeant First Class Zoltán Bálint and his navigator Warrant Officer Barnabás Honfi. Imre Szekeres added: the first real challenge is already here for the team since on April 10 they will have to utilize the skills they have mastered to date. For the national off-road rally championship will start from Derecske, and the military team will introduce themselves under conditions of competition for the first time. It was also mentioned that four team members will perform service tasks in Derecske.

"Our aim is twofold – emphasized László Palik –, on the one hand we would like to help the Hungarian Defence Forces in recruitment. For those who join the service can even drive a race car. In addition, a year from now these six men can transfer all their experiences to the drivers serving in the Hungarian Defence Forces."

The idea of setting up an off-road rally team within the Hungarian Defence Forces came up in May 2007 for the first time, when Defence Minister Dr. Imre Szekeres visited the Hungarian troops on duty in Afghanistan. László Palik also accompanied the minister on this trip to transfer navigational skills and driving techniques used in off-road races to the soldiers, in order to be able to utilize this knowledge during their service on mission in case it is necessary. For Hungarian soldiers on missions – and especially in Afghanistan – work in complicated terrains. In areas where roads are in very bad condition or do not even exist. Working and driving in such terrains demands intense concentration and an excellent knowledge of driving techniques.

Later it came up again at the Central Europe Rally organized in Hungary and Romania (instead of Dakar 2008) that it would be nice if the sportsmen of off-road rallies could cooperate with the Hungarian Defence Forces. So a few months later, the world’s first off-road rally team consisting of servicemen was created, whose duty is to master the skills necessary for racing and to enter national and international competitions.

The off-road rally team called Cheetahs, which was introduced to the public at the Ócsa drill ground of the Hungarian Defence Forces last November – with members Warrant Officer Barnabás Honfi, Sergeant First Class László Szenáki, Sergeant First Class Zoltán Bálint, Staff Sergeant György Borisz, Corporal Ákos Gazdag, and Corporal Gábor Halmai – operates in the framework of Budapesti Honvéd Sportegyesület (Honvéd Sports Club of Budapest) as an independent section.

Mr János Lázár, the opposition chairman of the Defence and Internal Security Committee of the National Assembly accepted the management of this section. This fact also proves that in sports, there is national unity – said Defence Minister Imre Szekeres at the navigational training in Csobánka.