Home Off Road Registrations for Force Gurkha RFC India 2017 close with a record 40...

Registrations for Force Gurkha RFC India 2017 close with a record 40 entries

Overall benefits to the top Indian driver of the competition increased to $8,000

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The fourth edition of the Force Gurkha Rainforest Challenge (RFC) India, to be held in Goa from 22nd July to 30th July 2017, has witnessed a record 40 entries. This includes 8 entries from Hyderabad, 7 from Kerala, 4 teams from Mumbai, 7 from Karnataka including 4 entries from Bangalore, 3 teams each from Goa, Delhi and Chandigarh, 2 from Pune, 2 from Tamil Nadu and 1 entry from Yamunanagar.

Ashish Gupta
Ashish Gupta

As per Mr. Ashish Gupta, Director, Cougar Motorsport Pvt. Ltd., the company that has the India franchise rights for RFC, “We opened registrations on 1st February through an announcement on our Social Media pages and received two third of the entries within 9 hours. And since buying subscribers is now a common practise, we have even looked into that avenue. This overwhelming response is quite heartening as it means that our hard work over the last three years has paid off and Force Gurkha RFC India is now a well-respected and coveted competition in the Indian off-roading community. Since it is an extremely tough competition and has to be completed in the stipulated time period, there is only a certain number of entries that we can accept. Hence, when we had reached the 40 mark in a couple of days, we decided to close registrations and requested others to wait till the next edition.”

Pune-based Force Motors Ltd, which was the title sponsor of the event for its first three editions, has retained the title sponsorship for the 2017 edition as well.

In a surprise move, Mumbai-based Fairmont Group has signed veteran Malaysian driver Mervyn Lim, who was the first runner-up in all the previous editions of Force Gurkha RFC India, to drive for them in RFC India 2017. In the earlier editions, Lim represented Force Motors Ltd. Team Fairmont, which has 4 entries in the competition this year, will also feature a US driver who will be driving an IronScorpion HMV, a vehicle that has replaced the Hummer in the US Army. The third vehicle for this team will be manned by the Group’s Director Sameer Chunawala, who will be competing in Force Gurkha RFC India for the third consecutive year. According to 35-year old Sameer, “RFC India is the most awaited offroading event in our country and every hardcore off-roader wants to compete in it. However, I have realized over the years that our vehicle potential and driving skills are nowhere near international offroaders. Now that Mervyn is a part of our team, I intend to learn the finer details of offroading from him. This year, my aim is to successfully complete all the Special Stages and come in the top 5.”

Force Gurkha RFC India

While the entries for this year include several Force Gurkha RFC India veterans, there are also quite a few newcomers. 36-year old R Sumanth Shenoy from Chikmagalur town of Karnataka, who has been offroading since he was in 8th standard, says that this entry is a dream-come-true for him. “RFC is the crown of motorsport in India and I have wanted to participate in it right from the first edition. While business commitments prevented me from participating in the first two editions, I couldn’t compete last year as my vehicle was not ready. Now, my Mahindra Jeep is completely modified and I am looking forward to my maiden attempt at RFC India. I have even given the name ‘Mud Bull’ to my vehicle as it looks like a monster beast!”

Another new entrant to the competition, Dattaraj Dessai from Goa has been religiously following Force Gurkha RFC India since the first edition. He says, “I used to travel to all the locations and watch the competitors performing in the Special Stages. Then, after the event got over, I would go to the same locations and practice on those tracks. It has taken me over two years to prepare my vehicle but now I am fully ready. I recently competed in my first off-road competition in Pune and came fourth in the diesel category. In fact, I was better in some stages than some seasoned off-roaders. Hence, I am quite confident about my capabilities and will be entering RFC India 2017 with an intention to win.”

While the competitors are gearing up to challenge each other, the event organizers are also planning to surprise them with some changes in order to make the competition tougher. “This year, the event will have a changed format for the Special Stages, with a variation in the running order and sequence of the SS. We also plan to have some part of the competition at new sites and will shortly start the recce process for the same.” Mr. Ashish Gupta said.

RFC India

He added, “We are also increasing the stakes this year as the total benefits that the top Indian driver of the competition will get will amount to $8,000. This includes the automatic fully paid for entry in the RFC 2017 Grand Final in Malaysia that is worth $3,900 and the travel expenses amounting to around $1,100. Additionally, this year Cougar Motorsport will contribute up to $3,000 towards the cost of arranging the competition vehicle for the Mother Event in Malaysia.”

Following is the list of the teams that would be participating in Force Gurkha RFC India 2017

S.No Driver Co-Driver Place Team
1 Dr Chaitanya Challa Hyderabad
2 Rajasekhara Prabhu Hyderabad
3 Kranthi Kumar Vengala Hyderabad
4 Krishna Reddy Hyderabad
5 Venkat Devineni Hyderabad
6 Abinav Reddy Nukala Hyderabad CORAC
7 Jithender Nath A Hyderabad CORAC
8 Laxmikanth Reddy Hyderabad CORAC
9 Sam Kurian Kalarickal Kerala KTM Jeepers
10 Anand V Manjooran Kerala KTM Jeepers
11 Raju Paul Kerala KTM Jeepers
12 Shemy Mustafa Kerala KTM Jeepers
13 Shibu Varghese Kerala
14 Robish M.K. Kerala
15 Team Flywheel-KASC Kerala Team Flywheel – KASC
16 Team Fairmont Mumbai Team Fairmont
17 Team Fairmont Mumbai Team Fairmont
18 Team Fairmont Mumbai Team Fairmont
19 Team Fairmont Mumbai Team Fairmont
20 Daulat Deepram Choudhary Pune
21 Ajit Bache Sandip Yadav Pune Pune Offroaders
22 Cedrick Jordan DaSilva Goa
23 Tejas Prakash Shindolkar Goa
24 Dattaraj Dessai Goa
25 Vivek Kuriakosse Ashok Kuriakosse Bangalore BODA
26 Lokesh Shivaraja Rohith KR Bangalore BODA
27 Siddartha Santosh Prithviraj AC Bangalore BODA
28 Prashanth GV Pradeep Gowda Bangalore BODA
29 R Sumanth Shenoy Mohnish L Chikmagalur
30 Narthan Byramudi Sakleshpur Mudhogs
31 Jagat Nanjappa Chetan Changappa Coorg V5 Offroaders
32 Gowtham Santhakumar Pollachi
33 Guhan Shetty Umesh Rane Tirunelveli Spartan Off Road Motor Sports
34 Bijender Singh Delhi NIOC
35 Pragun Arora Delhi NIOC
36 Dr Kartik Sharma Delhi NIOC
37 Sushant Saini Yamunanagar
38 Kabir Waraich Chandigarh Gerrari Offroaders
39 Dushyant Khosla Chandigarh Gerrari Offroaders
40 Gurmeet Virdi Chandigarh Gerrari Offroaders

 

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