PANAJI
The 12th edition of The Rainforest Challenge (RFC) India concluded with Ujjal Namshum (co-driver Chethan Chengappa) from Arunachal Pradesh being crowned the Overall Champion in the ‘4x4 Extreme’ category with a total score of 2253 out of 2600. This is the second consecutive year that the duo has won RFC India. As the top driver in the ‘4x4 Extreme’ category, Ujjal has won a free, automatic entry to the RFC Global Series Finale, to be held in Malaysia at the end of the year.
Sarjerao Kawade (Rushikesh Patil) from Pune took home the Overall Champion trophy in the ‘4x4 Modified’ category with 1633 points out of 2000 and Athul Thomas (Binil Babu) from Kerala won the ‘4x4 Stock’ category with 1247 points out of 1400.
Kranthi Kumar Vengala (Rajeev Lal PM) from Hyderabad emerged as the first runner up in the ‘4x4 Extreme’ category with 2052 points while Goan driver Viddesh Madgaonkar (Sahil Sadekar) took the third position with 1962 points. Shehinsha TP (Muhammed Nabeel) from Kerala claimed the second position in the ‘4x4 Modified’ category with 1572 points and Gagan Karumbaiah (Bopanna Maleyanda) was at the third position on the leaderboard with 1569 points. In the ‘4x4 Stock’ category, RFC India debutant Naku Hage Chada (Loda Punyo) from Arunachal Pradesh was declared the runner up with 1173 points and Sabu Xavier (Halvin Appanna) from Bengaluru took the third spot with 1144 points.
The ‘4x4 Modified’ category saw Sarjerao Kawade and co-driver Rushikesh Patil maintain a consistent lead throughout the event, returning with a rebuilt vehicle and a markedly stronger campaign than their podium finish last year.
In the ‘4x4 Stock’ category, Athul Thomas overcame an early setback on the very first stage to secure victory.
Several special awards were also announced. The ‘Environment Award’ went to Team Hyderabad, the ‘Most Unique 4x4’ award went to Pravin Jadhav and the ‘David Metcalfe Jungleman Award’ went to Hamdaan Khan. Sameer Chunawala from Mumbai received the ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ and the ‘Best Service Team’ award went to Ujjal and Chethan’s Service Team.
