To the Victor
Went the Thar
We went to Igatpuri in Nashik district to witness
the Off-Roading Trophy and even got a chance
todrivefora fewstagesofthisevent
Story:JoshuaVarghese Photography: Mahindra AdventurerrivingatnashikfortheMahindra
adventureoff-roadingtrophy2019,iwasexpectingto
walk into acrowdedroom filledwithtense andnervous
participants.fully-occupiedtablesweretestimonytomy
firstexpectationandahealthy numberofwomen
participantsaswellbut,oh,boy,iwasfaroffthemark
aboutthe“tenseandnervous”bit...
theparticipantssatattheirtables,eagerinconversation.onlypausingto
listentotheoddjovialcharacterandthenrespondtohiswitwithhysterical
laughter.theenergywasinfectiousandsooniwasalsoeavesdropping
(shamelessly)andsmilingaway.enjoyingmyselfsomuchthatiwasa tad
crestfallenwhenBijoykumar(chief,Mahindraadventure)tookthestage;
timetogetserious.he promptlyrequestedallofustostandup,lookatthe
personnexttousintheeyeandyell,‘getlost’.that’stheMahindra
adventurewayofbeginningthings.fairenough,consideringtheirmottois
“getreadytogetlost”.thatsetthetempofortherestoftheweekendandi
was sure that this would be a fun couple of days all the way through.
The finalistsintheroom were seasonedoff-roaders
whohadacedthegreatescapesintheirrespective
regionsandtheylistenedwithraptattentionastherules
andregulationswereexplained.if theyperformed well,
oneofthemcouldbedrivinghomea brand-new
Mahindrathar 700 Limitededition.
thescoringsystemissimple.Pickupa flag,earn 10
points.hit a cone,lose 10 points.Pickupa super
flag,earn 20 points.eachcoursehasflagsandcones
placedinstrategiclocations,underthewatchfuleyes
ofa judge.furthermore,thejudgehas 10 pointsto
awardathisdiscretion.he judgestheparticipants
basedontheirdriving,safety,andvehicle
preservationskills.thereisalsoa maximum
permittedtimeforeachstage.finishingwithinsaid
timewillearnpoints;otherwiseadnf(didnot
finish).i was told thati’d also be competing in theA
Feature | Mahindra Adventure Off-Roading Trophy 2019
132 car india^ August 2019 http://www.carindia.in