You know that tingly feeling you got as a kid the day before you traveled somewhere special? For the first time in ages, that sensation came back to me, hours before departing for Norway. And for good reason.

Having experienced the insane fun at Gatebil Mantorp a few weeks ago, I was super-excited to spend an extended weekend at the biggest event on Gatebil’s summer calendar – Rudskogen.

The plan was to leave work on Wednesday and meet up with my friend Samuel who was also headed to Norway for the event. After filling up my GT86 and playing baggage Tetris in the trunk (which is surprisingly roomy), I set my way for the 200km drive from Stockholm to Linköping.

I stayed overnight in Linköping at Samuel’s place, before linking up with another friend, Linus. If you follow Gatebil on social media, you might know that Samuel and Linus have been producing the event series’ videos for the past year or so. At 6:00am sharp on Thursday morning, it was time to hit the road in Samuel’s BMW E36.

Just how much luggage do three guys need for a weekend? Apparently a lot.

Driving through the Swedish countryside in the rain is fun, but it’s so much better when you’re convoying with a modified 944. Stephanie Falk also met up with us in Linköping, and I managed to snag a rolling picture of the Porsche before the rain started to pour down hard. From there on out, I just enjoyed the road trip.

For myself (and probably most of people), a fast food pitstop is almost mandatory. We stopped at Töckfors Handelspark, which is just a few kilometers from the Sweden-Norway border, and roughly 90km from Norway’s capital, Oslo, for some unhealthy food, extra snacks and fuel. Thankfully at this point, the rain disappeared and the sun peeked through as we were about to head off.

After crossing the border and hearing how the Swedish radio faded and the Norwegian language took over, my excitement for Rudskogen grew more. The road to the venue is absolutely breathtaking with wide-open nature, thick forests and twisty roads. Together they’re the perfect recipe for a fun drive, and even in Samuel’s E46 we had a blast.

After driving for about 40 minutes, we arrived at Rudskogen.

At the booth, we all picked up our yellow wristbands; I was now member of the Gatebil media team for the weekend. Then we made our way to probably the best media room I’ve ever been in. Not because of the actual building, but because of where it’s located. Yes, this is also where Samuel, Linus and I would be camping for the weekend.

As you can see, we didn’t even need to leave the room to catch the action. Just outside the window was the start point of the famed Breisladden competition, which I will cover off in another post. This was also our alarm clock every day when the driving started at 8:00am. Who doesn’t want to be woken up by screaming wastegates and exhausts, and screeching tires?

As soon as we were all set up, we wasted little time heading out to catch the action. I cannot wait to show you what Gatebil Rudskogen 2022 had to offer, because this event blew my mind. Stay tuned for a bunch of stories from Norway’s biggest automotive festival.

Alen Haseta
Instagram: hazetaa