The Force Gurkha RFC India 2014 got off
to a spectacular start with title sponsor Force Motors revealing its three
massive souped up Gurkha vehicles. “It is not a standard off the line vehicle.
It has been refined. It has been tweaked. This is something every rally vehicle
goes through. Our R&D took the lead and decided what aggregates to take on,
what to be tweaked and how much to be tweaked, etc, said Prasan Firodia, Managing
Director of Force Motors.
In an exclusive interview with Motown
India on Day One of the off-roading event, Firodia explained that his company “took
in some local help also of people who have already been in this business” of
modifying vehicles for off road events. “As an organisation it is the first
time. There is always a learning curve. We got in experts and together we built
this vehicle,” he said.
The maiden edition of the Force Gurkha
Rainforest Challenge (RFC) India was launched at the International Centre Goa
in Dona Paula. With 25 competitor teams from all over India, the six-day event is
expected to see a lot of action.
Comprising of a driver and a co-driver,
each team will navigate through multiple
off-road obstacles or Special Stages from South to North Goa wherein
competitors will face rain and tough terrains. The first day of the event saw competitors
line up their vehicles for scrutiny by an expert panel. The scrutiny was to
check if all the vehicles complied with RFC International safety standards.
Luis J A Wee, Founder and Creator of the
Rainforest Challenge, who was also present at the launch noted that RFC going
international was a milestone for the organisers and now it coming to India is
another one. “I pray that the passion for this sport only grows and we see an
even bigger crowd next year,” he said.
The Prologue Special Stages, starts on
August 9 and will be held around the International Centre Goa and will give
onlookers a chance to admire the modified 4x4 vehicles. After two days of
tackling the 12 Prologue SS, the teams will venture into Jungle Camp I where
they will have to fend for themselves while adhering to the stringent
guidelines of the environment charter that has been instituted by the event
organisers.
Ashish Gupta, Founder and Director,
Cougar Motorsport Pvt. Ltd., the company responsible for introducing RFC in
India, maintained that many off-road clubs have come forward to support the event
and participate in it. “It is an extreme motorsport and we have stuck to RFC
international standards while designing this course,” he added.