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Gambler 500 hits Okanagan back roads

Hundreds of off road enthusiasts are rallying in the South Okanagan this weekend for the Gambler 500.
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Approximately 250 vehicles are participating the off road $500 car rally. Photo Andrea DeMeer

Hundreds of off road enthusiasts are rallying in the South Okanagan this weekend for the Gambler 500.

The event, which challenges participants to navigate 500 km of back roads while driving a $500 vehicle, began Saturday morning in Coalmont.

The entrants must locate check points, and at each one they are required to collect trash and waste from the area.

“It’s not a race…It’s meant for having fun and for doing something for the environment,” said Aaron Hansen, a driver from Langley.

There are approximately 250 cars registered for the rally, many of them creatively painted and modified, including at least one partially severed police cruiser.

Saturday morning the cars headed towards Tulameen and then travelled to Missezula Lake. They stopped in Princeton on their way to Penticton and Osoyoos.

It is the third Gambler 500 and its fans come from across BC, and from Alberta and Washington.

The rally is called Gambler, said Hansen, as with a $500 car “it’s a gamble that you are going to make it.”



Andrea DeMeer

About the Author: Andrea DeMeer

Andrea is the publisher of the Similkameen Spotlight.
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