Ujjal Namshum and co-driver Chethan Chengappa slip down to the 2nd position while N Abinav Reddy and co-driver Vishuthi Varun Chakravarthy climb up to the third position
Day 3 of the Rainforest Challenge (RFC) India 2024, which is the tenth edition of India’s biggest and toughest offroad motorsport competition, saw a major shift in the ranking chart. As per the Provisional Results declared after the completion of Special Stages (SS) 9 to 12, Dr. Mohammed Fahed VP (co-driver Rajeev Lal) from Kerala, who was at the second position on the first two days, emerged at the top spot with 993 points out of 1200.
Ujjal Namshum from Arunachal Pradesh (Chethan Chengappa) slipped down one spot and ended the day at the second position with 913 points. N Abinav Reddy (Vishuthi Varun Chakravarthy) from Hyderabad and Bijender Singh (Gajender Singh) from Delhi climbed up two spots to claim the third and fourth positions respectively with 854 points and 836 points. Aniruddha Nandakishor Shete (Subhash Utekar) moved up three positions to make it to the top five with 824 points.
According to Dr. Mohammed Fahed VP, “This is my fourth year at RFC India and in all the previous years, I have never performed very well at Verna, which was the location for the first two days of the competition this year. So, I was quite apprehensive initially. We decided to try our luck and did much better than we expected. Today, we were the first team that completed SS9, which was a disadvantage for us as the teams that came after us had much better timings. Hence, we decided to make up for the lost points in the other three SS. Thankfully, everything went off well. My aim over the next few days is to ensure that I finish the stages as fast as I can without breaking my vehicle.”
RFC India, which is the India Chapter of The Rainforest Challenge of Malaysia, is the longest running international offroad motorsport competition in India. Currently in its 10th edition, the competition is being held in Goa where a tough fight is taking place among 26 teams, consisting of some of the most evolved off-roaders of the country, for the RFC India 2024 Champions trophy, which wil be announced on 26th of July.
There was less rainfall on Day 3 compared to the first two days of the competition. However, the number of water bodies they had to cross while attempting SS9 to SS12 meant that the men and their machines did not have any chance to miss the water. Apart from tackling multiple winching points, including some of almost 90-degree angle, the competitors had to showcase their vehicle’s capability as well as their own driving and vehicle manoeuvring skills in deep water.
RFC India rookie Digvijay Sinh Parmar, who hails from Silvassa in Maharashtra, expressed his happiness on ending Day 3 at the 12th position. He said, “I have been coming to watch RFC India since the last three years but this is the first time I have participated in the competition. I am very happy and am thoroughly enjoying myself. I have been doing well so far and over the last couple of days, I have also picked up speed and gained much confidence. My goal is to be in the top 5 at the end of the event and then return next year with even more teams from Silvassa.”
Goan driver and RFC India 2023 Champion Cedrick Jordan Da Silva, who is the only competitor to have participated in all the ten editions of RFC India, said, “It’s been a long journey and I think RFC India has now become a part of my life. I am glad that the event has maintained its standards over the years. The feeling that you get at RFC India, you don’t get in any other event. For an entire week of the event, we face new challenges that test our offroad driving skills and keep us constantly on our toes.”