The countdown has begun for the winners of The Rainforest Challenge (RFC) India 2024 to be declared. After completion of 20 of the 26 Special Stages (SS) at the 10th edition of India’s biggest and toughest offroad motorsport competition, Dr Mohammed Fahed VP and co-driver Rajeev Lal from Kerala continue being on the top spot in the ranking tables with 1688 points out of 2000.
Ujjal Namshum from Arunachal Pradesh and co-driver Chethan Chengappa from Karnataka have also retained their second spot with 1515 points. Goan driver and RFC India 2023 Champion Cedrick Jordan Da Silva (Mackvin Dias) has climbed up one spot to take the third position with 1389 points. N Abinav Reddy (co-driver Vishuthi Varun Chakravarthy) from Hyderabad have slipped down one position to take the fourth spot with 1383 points while Anand V Manjooran (Vishnu Raj) from Kerala has retained the fifth position with 1341 points.
Analysing his performance on Day 5 of RFC India 2024, Dr Mohammed Fahed VP said, “Yesterday, the focus of the stages was on speed rather than winching, which is unlike RFC India where usually a lot of winching is involved. Today’s first two stages were also speed runs. In SS18, my winch was not working properly because of which I took a lot of time to reach the finish point. Also, SS 19 was the trickiest of all the SS we have encountered so far at RFC India 2024. Most people who attempted that Stage before me were getting a DNF (Did Not Finish). So, I decided that somehow, I had to complete the SS. This stage required us to use our brain and plan how to manoeuvre our vehicle, where and how to winch and how to avoid penalties. Thankfully, we did well in that SS.”
On the matter of being in the lead position of the competition, Dr Fahed said, “I am doing well in the competition but I am a little tense because in the last 3 years that I have competed in RFC India, I did not end the competition well because of issues with my vehicle as well as stress. This year, I did not get the chance to practice on my vehicle as it got ready only one night prior to the competition. Getting in sync with the car was my biggest challenge but while doing the stages on the first couple of days, I realised that the car was performing well. However, I am keeping my fingers crossed that everything goes well over the next two days as my biggest competitors are Ujjal and Chethan. While Ujjal is as good as me in driving skills, Chethan is the highest paid co-driver in India. So, I can’t underestimate them and become complacent.”
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 26 teams, consisting of some of the most evolved off-roaders of the country, are participating. The RFC India 2024 Champions will be announced on 26th July and the top three drivers of RFC India 2024 will win free entry to the RFC Global Series 2024 Finale to be held in Malaysia at the end of the year.