ADVENTURE
 The off-road challenge
This year’s Rainforest Challenge saw many seasoned as well as amateur off-roaders taking part in the dangerous event
H. Kishie Singh

The Rainforest Challenge, RFC, one of the most demanding and dangerous off-roading events in the world, was held in Goa recently. In 2013, it was included in the World’s Top Ten Toughest Motor Races. Off-roader aficionados in India got a chance to participate in this awesome event.

Fording the river is often among the favourite challenges
Fording the river is often among the favourite challenges

As many as 24 teams took part in the event. Four teams from Gerrari Off-Roaders were from Chandigarh. In the top five finishers, the first two positions went to Malaysians Tan Jo-Choon Hong and Mervyn Lim-Abdul Hamid in Force Gurkha factory-prepared vehicles. The Malaysians are seasoned off-roaders, so this was no surprise. The credit goes to Gerrari Off-Roaders, who took the next three positions.

In third place was the Kabir -Gagan duo in a Mahindra CJ3B followed by Gursahib-Tejinder in a Gypsy and Karan-Gurmeet in the next slot, also in a CJ3B.

All these vehicles were prepared by the boys themselves. Raised suspensions, coil springs, Warn 8274 winches fore and aft helped by snatch — blocks and straps, two batteries in each vehicle with a 140 ampere alternator to keep them topped up.

And they had problems. With these problems, the Fun Quotient goes up. On Day One, Kabir broke his axle. He hit a rock and broke the axle. Kabir was out of this stage but before the next stage, the service team had replaced the axle in 15 minutes. The service team had just about every spare that would be required — differentials, air-filters, fuel-filters, axles, seals, fans, radiators, etc.

Smitha Prasad and Sapna Gurukar off-roading their way into the male-dominated sport
Smitha Prasad and Sapna Gurukar off-roading their way into the male-dominated sport Photos by the writer 

According to David Metcalf, architect of the route and involved with the RFC for more than 10 years, "I was pleasantly surprised to see the teams well represented and with well-prepared vehicles. The downfall of some teams was the winches used and techniques".

Affectionately known as Mean Mr Metcalf (MMM), he is known for selecting the most difficult, dangerous, treacherous, and consequently thrilling stages.

David, a hard task master, was high praise for the event, "RFC India was handled with military precision!" That should make Ash Gupta and his team at Couger Motorsports blush with pride. Ash is the motivating force and responsible for bringing the Rainforest Challenge to India.

The Gerrari Team had well-prepared the vehicles but at scrutiny, they were surprised to see the level of preparedness. There were vehicles from Pune, Hyderabad and Bangalore. Guhan Shetty’s Mahindra 550 looked the best prepared. Says Kabir, "Just looking at these made us nervous!"

Gursahib broke his suspension arm on the first day. Next day, he broke his main driveshaft. This had to be welded because the spare was the wrong size. Gursahib worked till two in the morning to fix his vehicle. Karan Bali rolled on the first day without too much damage to the vehicle. A couple of days later, he rolled again but this time sustained damage. The service team repaired the Jeep in under an hour.

Service team help to pull out Kabir Waraich’s vehicle
Service team help to pull out Kabir Waraich’s vehicle

These are problems every team member is mentally, emotionally and physically prepared for. Undeterred, Team Gerrari bashed on regardless and made it to the Top Five. The most difficult part of the Challenge was the winching. At times, they had to place steel ladders to tackle the steep incline. Everyone struggled simply because they had little experience of winching. "Stage 22 was a 70`BA slope. The most difficult. It took us about 13 to 14 minutes to complete. The co-driver had a really tough time scrambling up the slope, pulling up the cable, anchoring it, coming back, activating the winch.

Operation not successful! Run back up the slope, undo the anchor, back to the vehicle reel in the cable. Repeat the same procedure on the rear winch. All this in mud, slush, rain and a slippery 70`BA slope. Very demanding physically," says Kabir, appreciating his co- driver Gagan’s contribution. An excellent example of coordinated teamwork.

Off-roading their way into a male-dominated sport was the Smitha Prasad-Sapna Gurukar team. They drove off, in 4x4 with the Ladies Team Award. Says Smitha, "Controlled aggression,
tactical driving and patience is what was expected at the event!"

The Rainforest Challenge is Luis Wee’s brainchild. The first event was held in 1997 in Malaysia and caught the attention of off-roaders worldwide. The event expanded into the RFC Global Series.

 

Driving spirit
 The annual Crème 21 Youngtimer Classic Car Rallye, which attracts many classic car collectors, is the best way to see the German countryside
Bob Rupani

The Cr`E8me 21 Youngtimer Classic Car Rallye was held in Germany recently. The entry rules were simple, road worthy vehicles manufactured between 1970 and 1990 could participate in this rallye and the idea was to have fun with these ‘Youngtimer’ classic cars.

The picturesque country roads take the participants to pretty places deep within Germany. They also play games along the way and get prizes for these general knowledge and skill-based games.
The picturesque country roads take the participants to pretty places deep within Germany. They also play games along the way and get prizes for these general knowledge and skill-based games. Photos by the writer 

The highlight of the Cr`E8me 21 Youngtimer event was its route and this year was no different. The 200 participating teams drove more than 1000 km in 5 days on the scenic back roads of Germany. The organisers of the event say, "We spend a lot of time doing route surveys and finding the best roads for our rallye. We look for picturesque and quiet country roads that take our participants to pretty places deep within Germany."

The event started from Bremen-Oldenburg the University City, and proceeded to charming towns like Buckeburg, Alfeld, Braunlage, Oschersleben, Benneckenstein, Hann.Munden and Bielefeld before finishing in Borgholz-hausen.

B`FCckeburg is a town in Lower Saxony known for its magnificent 700-year-old palace and a helicopter museum that features the early drawings of flying objects by Leonardo da Vinci as well as 40 actual helicopters. Founded in 1214, Alfeld is located on the Leine River and is famous for the town hall with its octagonal tower. Braunlage is a popular ski and health resort and Oschersleben has a race track on which all 200 participants drove. Hann.Munden is famed for its several historical houses, some of them more than 600 year old and the large Lutheran church of St Blasius (14th-15th centuries), built in Gothic style is also worth visiting.

Founded in 1214, the city of Bielefeld is celebrating its 800th jubilee this year. A whole year of festivities are planned for Bielefeld’s anniversary, including numerous public events, performances, art happenings, exhibitions — all as a present to the city, its people and visitors. And among those who visited this town known for its Sparrenburg Castle were the participants of the Creme 21 Yountimer Rallye. The mighty fortifications of the Sparrenburg Castle are located right next to one of the most beautiful ridge walks in Germany, the "Hermannsweg".

En route the participants also passed through numerous small villages and towns and one that this writer found captivating was Duderstadt. This city has many historical buildings constructed in the half-timber style, and the atmosphere in the market square is festive and fun.

One of the other very interesting things about the Cr`E8me 21 Youngtimer Classic Car Rallye was that the event route often crisscrossed from West Germany to East Germany and back. Even 24 years after the fall of the ‘Iron Curtain’ and reunification of Germany, one can still see stark contrast between the two. Communism in East Germany between 1945 and 1990 is the reason that differences started to develop. In East Germany, you can still find people, who haven’t understood capitalism and reject it whereas in West Germany, it’s all about enterprise and hard work and enjoying good life. East Germans are not very religious either and though the reunification has changed a lot of things, you can still see that East Germany has a lower standard of living and is not as prosperous when compared to West Germany.

The Cr`E8me 21 Youngtimer Classic Car Rallye is an annual event that attracts many classic car collectors. Wherever this event goes, people turn out in huge numbers to see the classic cars. The participants, in turn, enjoy driving through country roads and seeing lesser visited parts of Germany. Interestingly, the participants also play games along the way and get prizes for these general knowledge and skill-based games.

While most of the participants are enthusiastic classic car owners, many automobile manufacturers like Volkswagen also enter teams that drive cars from their ‘Classic Museums’. This year saw an Indian participating for the first time in this event and he was warmly welcomed by all the participants, organisers and spectators.

The writer took part in the event and drove a 1973 model Volkswagen K-70, along with his co-driver,
German journalist Tim Westermann





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