Dhanraj Reddy wins Mahindra Adventure Off-Roading Trophy 2018

Dhanraj Reddy wins Mahindra Adventure Off-Roading Trophy 2018

Last weekend, we headed to the town of Igatpuri to witness the 2018 Mahindra Adventure Off-Roading Trophy. The competition is the grand finale of Mahindra’s nationwide Great Escape challenge. Therefore the winners of all Great Escape events that took place earlier on; competed against each other for the ultimate crown.

The machine

Mahindra Adventure readied 12 Thars for the competition as its rugged stance plus go anywhere attitude makes it the perfect vehicle from the Mahindra stable. The cars were equipped with a fully loaded off-road kit which consisted of Borgwarner 4-wheel-drive system, mechanical locking rear differentials and chunky Maxxis Bighorn off-road tyres. It goes without saying that each and every one of these Thars had roll-cages installed in them for obvious reasons.

Day one- Different ball-game

Normally Mahindra Adventure conducts their Off-Roading Trophy in January, but this year they wanted monsoon to do its trick at their off-roading site. On the first day, in a completely drenched Igatpuri, the 47 participants took on three obstacles in pairs of drivers and spotters. The obstacles included river-fording, railway crossing and driving through tough slush pits. Most participants were able to collect a minimum of three to four flags on each obstacle but the super flags were the ones that were strenuous. The most thrilling highlight of day one was the 20-point garnering super flag on the river fording challenge. It was placed at the dead end of a 45 degree incline and only a handful number of drivers succeeded in grabbing it. The trick was that drivers needed to place the front end of their Thars as close as possible to the super-flag, then climb on to the bonnet of the car, and collect it without touching the ground. It was fun to watch the Jeeps trek through this patch, roaring and struggling for grip.

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Day two- Tough Action

Switch back hill, multi-layer and rescue mission were the three challenges for day two and they were a whole lot tougher than the previous day. Participants started sweating it out on much tighter circuits and more treacherous slush pits. Time too was reduced from day one’s 6 minutes to 4 minutes for completing every obstacle. Though, everything was going well until two scary topples early in the game alarmed everyone. This was mainly because the switchback hill obstacle had a surprisingly flat stretch of around 50 meters, after which lied a cunning bump camouflaged onto the right side of the path that many participants overlooked. But fortunately no one was hurt thanks to the roll cages and safety gear while the Thar suffered minor body damages. Moreover, due to incessant rains, one of the challenges was called off as there was a lot of water-accumulation on the course.

Winners

Nonetheless, after the sun set on day two, the winners were announced. Hyderabad’s Dhanraj Reddy won in the men’s category and took home a brand new Mahindra Thar. He is also a regular RFC participant and his off-roading skills seemed like he was a seasoned competitor. Finishing just behind him was New Delhi’s Bijender Singh while the second-runner up was Goa’s Kapil Bhobe. Women’s participation was also impressive as Sapna Gurukar from Sakleshpur won in the ladies class.

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