Drivers in Iceland are well used to dodging about through steaming geysers, cold rivers and, well, ice. Claire Bowen joined them for a spot of Formula Off Road, a Viking variation of motoring with very big tyres
Ice-cold water was trickling down my back, my clothes were soaked and there was a puddle of water in my helmet.
Despite being drenched and coated in mud, I had a grin from ear to ear for I'd just had one of the most exhilarating car rides of my life.
Here I was in Iceland - the land of ice and fire - sampling off-roading with a difference. For these modern Vikings have invented a unique form of motorsport - Formula Off Road.
Benedikt Asgeirsson is one of the competitors who tackles impossible vertical hill climbs, coaxes cars to jump over crests and drives across water.
It was skimming the river surface in his 750bhp 4x4 which caused my wet and muddy appearance. Benedikt, whose day job as a mushroom farmer is far removed from his noisy, dirty hobby, revved his V8 engine, floored the throttle and hit the water at 60mph. The buggy on steroids aquaplaned across the surface before sinking to the river bed.
And this is what caused the soaking as the colossal bow wave broke over the top of the vehicle and attempted to drown the occupants.
Ever since Formula Off Road hit our television screens it has grown steadily in popularity and claimed viewing figures greater than Football Italia. It's hardly surprising, as those who like thrills and spills, are guaranteed them a-plenty by the crazy Icelanders.
Climbing vertical quarry faces doesn't always end successfully and your more likely to see the cars roll bonnet over boot down the hillside.
This, said my wild driver, was what he feared most. Inevitably it happened during an event in his first year of competition. "I wasn't hurt and the car wasn't damaged," said Benedikt who after a quick pit stop continued to compete.
But he ensured his place in the history books at the first foreign race meeting in England a couple of years ago by having, what was described, as the worst accident in the history of the sport.
Driving flat out at 80mph, a stone jammed the throttle open in the 750bhp machine, leaving the driver only one option - to cut the engine.
This resulted in a spectacular nose dive followed by two rolls end over end.
Benedikt was rushed to hospital but released later with nothing worse than bruising and a painful back. And, to the delight of the crowd, their brave hero returned to the event the following day - still smiling.
But the Dr Thirsty 4x4 didn't get off as lightly. It was severely battered and had a massive V-shaped dent in the front of the roll cage which was bad enough to keep him out of the sport for a year.
His vehicle looks more like a beach buggy than the Ford Bronco 4x4 on which it's based. Power comes from a V8 Chevvy engine boosted to 750bhp by a dose of nitrous oxide. It's driven through a clutchless three-speed - first, second and reverse - gearbox and uses gigantic Goodyear tyres with special scoops all over the surface.
Bravely Benedikt stood by as he let me loose in his pride and joy which cost hundreds of man hours and about €55,000 to build. Clambering aboard was hardest of all as there are no doors and it requires climbing up the huge wheels and ducking under the roll cage before sliding into the sports seat.
Strapped in securely, he showed me how to fire up the engine and use the oddly angled gearshift. Then, with a loud roar from the V8, I was off spewing small rocks from the lava strewn surface every which way. The acceleration was phenomenal - this car is as powerful as Michael Schumacher's F1 Ferrari.
Grip from the massive tyres is excellent and with the huge shock absorbers and special suspension it¹s almost a bump free zone. But try to turn this monster and you're glad you're in the wilds of Iceland and not down Moore St. It's turning circle is monumental.
Nobody looked more pleased than Benedikt when I returned his chariot in one piece having resisted the temptation to drive across the water. I was satisfied negotiating a smaller watersplash of my own which I knew would create no problems.
Formula Off Road started in Iceland back in the Sixties and competitors tackle eight courses on each event. Points are awarded for clean climbs with a maximum score of 300 for each course but points are also lost and penalty scores awarded for stopping, reversing or touching marker tyres..
My first view of a course laid out in a quarry was of total disbelief. But these fearless Viking warriors claimed this near vertical circuit was easy and proceeded to demonstrate their skills.
Strangely, once aboard these 4x4 monsters, there is no feeling of clinging to a cliff face like a fly or negotiating the massive jumps. After launching into mid-air I braced myself for the thud that was sure to come but we landed softly and more gently than an Airbus.
One of Iceland's heroes is the five times champion Gisli Gunnar Jonsson who last year had to hand over his crown to the up-and-coming Haraldur Petursson.
Next year's season starts in mid May and my short drive was almost enough to make me want to sign up and be the first female Formula Off Roader. But I think I'll just be content in the knowledge that I'm the only woman outside Iceland to have driven one of these astonishing vehicles. I'm happy to live with that.