Goan driver Cedrick Jordan DaSilva and co-driver Mackwin Dias crowned champions of Rainforest Challenge India 2023

The Rainforest Challenge India 2023 has concluded, with Goan driver Cedrick Jordan DaSilva (42) and co-driver Mackwin Dias (38) victorious. The team won the championship in the ninth edition of the competition after a week-long competition. This is the first time in RFC India history that a team from Goa has won the RFC India Champions Trophy.

Cedrick and Mackwin earned an overall score of 2101 points out of 2600 after completing all 26 Special Stages (SS) of RFC India 2023. Cedrick Jordan DaSilva's victory also qualifies him to compete in the RFC Global Series 2023 Finale, which will be held in Malaysia at the end of the year.

DaSilva expressed his joy after winning the trophy after nine attempts at RFC India, saying, "A long-awaited dream has come true. I have only one passion, which is off-roading, and I had won all major off-roading events in India except RFC India. So, this trophy was always on my wish list, and it means the world to me to win RFC India 2023."

Kerala native Anand V. Manjooran (co-driver Chethan Chengappa) finished as the first runner-up with 2019 points. Dr. Mohammed Fahed VP (Rajeev Lal), who is also from Kerala, finished as the second runner-up with 1982 points. Aniruddha Nandakishor Shete (Akash Malbari) of Maharashtra and Bijender Singh (Gajender Singh) of Delhi completed the Top 5 with 1902 and 1853 points, respectively.

The Rainforest Challenge India was launched in 2014 as the Indian counterpart to the Rainforest Challenge Malaysia. Skoda Motorsport ranked the Malaysia event as the third toughest off-road race in the world in 2018. Since then, the event has grown to become one of India's most prominent off-road motorsport competitions, attracting participants from all over the country and challenging their off-road driving skills.