mediaclass,soipickedupontheessentialsaswell:grab theflags,
avoidthecones.
afterbeingpairedintodriver-spotterteams,theparticipantswereoff
tofacethefirstchallengeintheMahindratharsprovidedandmaintained
byMahindraadventure.Bothcontestantswoulddriveinturnsandspot
foreachother.
The firstcoursewas easy; relatively,ofcourse.So,we were alsoallowedto
drive onitandyourstruly managedto finishitwithaperfectscore. The second
stagewaswherethechallengebegan.aftermanoeuvringthetharalonga
narrowpathwithdeepruts,ifoundmyselfatthebaseofa hillwhichhadthree
flagsupforgrabs alongitsslope.The challenge?The base ofthehillwas a
slushpitwithlimitedtraction.afterwatchingthedriverswhotriedbeforeme,
ialsotriedtopowermywayupthehillbutgotascloseasbrushingmyhand
against thefirstflagbefore runningoutoftime.Afterwardsthespecialiststold
metheeasiest way would have been to runover thecone(itstood onfirmer
ground)andmakeit tothetop,thencomedowninreversetocollecttherestof
theflags.That mademerealize thatthere’s more to off-roadingthanjust
smooth right-foot input.
Understanding the lay of the land
and selecting an appropriate line
arealsovitalskillstobecomea
goodoff-roaddriver.
the challenges that followed
only seemed to progress in terms
ofdifficulty.Iwitnessed Thars entering ditches filled
withwateratscarilysteepangles,wadingthroughthem
likeducksina pond,andthenemergingfromthewater
likeit wasnothing.drivers performed balancing acts
withawheelintheairto reach adifficultflagwhilethe
unluckyoneswedgedtheircardeepinthemudwhile
trying.therewerea fewerrorshereandtherebutthe
tharstookallthebeating valiantly and loyally returned
tothestartline,livinguptoitsruggedoff-roader
credentialsandearningourrespectalongtheway.
thefollowingdaywewerebackattheigatpuri facility
to take onthefinalday’s challenges. We drove one of the
previousday’scourses and I managed to finish it with a
perfectscoreaswell, largely due to the fact that the track
hadlostitsinitialchallenge after all the participants had
driven onit.Meanwhile,thefinalistshadprogressed
throughtothetoughestcoupleofchallenges.
at theendoftheevent,it wasBopaiahkongettira
fromkodaguwhowonthe“off-roaderoftheYear”
title.Myfatewasnotasgreatbecauseimissedouton
firstplaceinthemediaclass byacoupleofpoints.
on thewaybacktoPune,ihada fewotherthingsto
thinkabout. Whilethedrivers’ skillwas commendable,
therealhighlightwasthecamaraderietheyshared.each
participantwasseeneggingontheirrivalandeven
offeringadviceif theyhadjustdrivenbeforethem.
Mahindraadventure have done a splendid job not
onlyinconductingandpromotingsuchaneventbutalso
bynurturinga veryhealthycompetitiveenvironment.
do youthinkyouhavewhatit takestotakeonthe
ruggedterrain andwin?Then logonto theMahindra
adventurewebsiteandregisterforoneofthegreat
Escapes.Withalotofskillandalittleluck,youcould
alsobea championnextyear.
if youarethinkingofparticipatingfortheupcoming
trophy,thenheadtothewebsiteandsignupforthenext
greatescape.if youarea noob,thensignupfortheoff-
roadingacademy.You can’t go wrong either way.Understanding the lay of
the land and selecting an
appropriate line are vital
skills to become a good
off-road driver
(Above) Bopaiah
Kongettira would
have definitely
enjoyed the drive
back home in his
new Tharhttp://www.carindia.in August 2019 car india 133