Back in 2017, I hiked part of the so-called King’s Trail (Kungsleden) in North Sweden, a trail that’s approximately 440 kilometers (270 miles) long. I walked a route that was roughly 60 kilometers, and it took me a week to complete it with no stress, stopping for a break every now and then at beautiful vistas and enjoying what nature had to offer. All in all, it was a very relaxing and enjoyable week.

At Gatebil Rudskogen 2022, I walked, ran, crawled and climbed 54.2 kilometers or 81,409 steps. To me, that’s pretty impressive considering that I did it over one weekend. Granted, the iPhone Health app isn’t 100% accurate when it comes to how many steps you complete each day, but it’s the closest thing we have to an automatic step counter.

Here are some of my highlights from the weekend, with a step count.

Porsche 993/935 – Step Count: 2,451

If you do an Google image search on ‘Wangan Racing’, you’ll find a picture of a Martini-liveried Porsche 935 driving in a tunnel with a small flame spewing from the exhaust. That’s the image that pretty much got me digging deeper into Japanese street racing culture. I’ve wanted to see a 935 in person ever since, and I got pretty close at Gatebil Rudskogen with this 935-kitted 993 from the ‘No Matching Numbers’ team. The best thing is, it was being pushed to its absolute limit.

Fredric Aasbø & Olav Haugen Hasdal – Step Count: 27,931

I stopped by Fredric Aasbø’s paddock pit to check out his Jon Sibal-designed Toyota Supra. People were quick to surround the car, and talk to Fredric and take selfies. What I didn’t expect to see was drifter Olav Haugen Hasdal asking for a photo, but it’s always fun seeing one driver be a fan of another.

A School Project – Step Count: 28,051

It’s not just drift builds and insane time attack cars at Gatebil. Every year since 2012, the student organization Revolve NTNU have been building these race cars for the Formula Student engineering competition. This year they showed their all-electrical Revolve Nova from a couple of years back, which produces 115hp and weighs just 162.5kg, resulting in a 0-100km/h time of just 2.3-seconds.

A Familiar Sight – Step Count: 60,971

I wasn’t expecting to meet any fellow Icelanders at this event after hearing that Fannar’s Porsche 944 drift car broke down weeks before the event. My hopes of reconnecting with someone from my home country were slim, but then I spotted this red BMW E46 with a familiar license plate going sideways.

A Valuable Lesson – Step Count: 61,221

With so many cars entering Breisladden (power drift) competition, I needed to wait a while before I could capture an image of Fredric Aasbø. When he finally arrived I fired away, but my shutter stopped as soon as he initiated into the first corner. I looked at the screen and it read ‘No space on the memory card’. It was a rookie mistake I hopefully won’t make again.

DJ Aasbø – Step Count: 71,144

This whole article could have been about Fredric in all fairness. During the after party, Norway’s favorite drift champ stepped on stage and spun the records for the people below. Was there a better way to hype up the crowd for the upcoming artists? I don’t think so.

A Tired Doggy – Step Count: 78,323

I felt this one. A picture that explains what I’d look like a few hours later during the car ride home. Sleep was one thing I was really looking forward to after three days living at the track.

I hope you’ve enjoyed my Gatebil coverage from both Sweden and Norway. There were some wild builds at both events, so look out for some spotlights and features on those in the coming weeks.

Alen Hasta
Instagram: hazetaa