In the run up to the 2012 event, southern England suffered from exceptionally heavy rain fall that saturated the ground. From Friday onwards the whole event was plagued by torrential downpours and strong winds. Consequently, most of the track, the main arena and the campsite deteriorated into the notorious "mudfest". Given the conditions, the organizers declared that each team member only needed to complete a minimum of one lap to qualify for a placing (normally a minimum of two laps are required) and that teams retiring early (i.e. before the full 24 hours had elapsed) would be placed according to the number of laps.