[Vishbull_6157]

Originally Posted by Shubhendra

Trophy event had only 3 obstacles out of that one got cancelled that left us with two obstacles only.Two obstacles in a day left us hungry for more

Shubhendra Singh

Hi Shubendra,

All the jeeps in your group look fantastic,

Request you to please share some pictures of the two obstacles.

Regards

[Shubhendra]

Originally Posted by Vishbull_6157

Hi Shubendra,

All the jeeps in your group look fantastic,

Request you to please share some pictures of the two obstacles.

Regards

Vishbull_6157,
Thanks for appreciation. We didn't click pictures as it was raining. One obstacle was rock crawling (medium grade difficulty) and another was water fording (very easy). Team Mahindra may put them online soon, they were clicking pictures like crazy

Shubhendra

[vinod_nookala]

Originally Posted by Shubhendra

Vinod Ji,
you was correct, we couldn't clear that slush and rock filled incline with 235, 31 inches and even with 35 inches tyres and had to winch them. Yes but we tried.
one suggestion, we need more obstacles in future MGEs. Trophy event had only 3 obstacles out of that one got cancelled that left us with two obstacles only.Two obstacles in a day left us hungry for more.....

Shubhendra Singh

Jeeps lineup from our group from Poona. One important point i noticed, 80% of old timers were absent from Bombay or Poona. I dont know why, but i have seen lately that old timers are parting ways from MGE whereas now event is filled up with newcomers and Thars..
No more good old souped up jeeps and enthusiastic owners :(


Shubhendra Singh

Hi Shubhendra,
Thanks for your input. There were close to 35 entires in Trophy alone. Plus there were equal number of entries in regular 4x4 drive. It's all about permutation combination specially when there is time constraint. We would have loved to go back the slope we came down. We had to wrap up the event by 4:30 for people to get back to their home in reasonable time.

In off-road trophy final which you attended and won 3rd prize had 28 participants and 10 vehicles. We could manage 4 obstacles a day starting 8:00 am in the morning. Imagine if we had 4 obstacles with 40+ vehicles starting at 10 am. I am sure we would have ended late night. Its all about the fine balance.

People like Alan, you, David, Nishant and others were there. There are few who weren't. Perhaps they like to do their own thing in a small group.

Originally Posted by fazalaliadil

Shubhendra,

I feel the reason is that, MGE's are very tame events, as Vinod himself stated on this thread "been there, done that" kind.

MGE is more or less for beginners and also for new entrants to this sport, a good introduction.

With old timers come Jeeps that are 'builds' than 'boughts'. Half the fun is the man's interaction with their machine and how they together perform.
Regards,

Fazal saab,
We have to cater to wide variety of people. In the same trail there are experienced and beginner's. We cant take chances on beginner's safety. We have to strike a fine balance. New blood is a must for any sport to continue. We are doing our bit to introduce new people and later they graduate to the local off-road clubs.

Having said that, the Lonavala terrain wasn't as tame as you think and beginners/ experienced did a good job living up to the trail. Cancellation of an obstacle because of inability of anyone to clear itself is an indication of trail being tough.

[genesis]

Originally Posted by Shubhendra

One important point i noticed, 80% of old timers were absent from Bombay or Poona. I dont know why, but i have seen lately that old timers are parting ways from MGE whereas now event is filled up with newcomers and Thars..
No more good old souped up jeeps and enthusiastic owners :(

Interesting point you bring up. I think there are a couple of factors. Vinod this is me thinking aloud in a constructive way on why I was not there.
[Apart from having a family function to attend that day ].

1. Having to wait in line with 50 jeeps to do a limited number of obstacles. A majority of the time is spent in waiting.

2. The drastic increase in pricing (Generalizing: from some 3000 Rs for 4 people to 6000 Rs for 2 people) for a single day event. (Could be to turn a cost center to a profit center - which is not necessarily a bad thing in these times to keep marketing sustainable)

3. These days old timers meet socially other than at jeep events. (which is actually an awesome thing in how friendships have developed). Previously we met the Pune guys at MGE only.

If I put 1 and 2 together, as much as I enjoy Thar and Invader owners ogle at the CJ at an event, it translates to not a great ROI for hard core offroading.
For me the MGE's when I started was more of a social event to meet other offroaders and that is achieved by 3.

I dont have a solution to this, nor am I sure it is a problem which needs a solution.

I still feel MGE is still great for inculcating people into offroading and giving them "thrills" they normally dont get in a relatively "controllled" environment.

And from what I heard from folks who were there, it was pretty well organized and they enjoyed the event, which is all that finally matters and not if 'oldies' are present or not (And with that I have exhausted my quota of smilies)

[Shubhendra]

Originally Posted by vinod_nookala

Hi Shubhendra,
In off-road trophy final which you attended and won 3rd prize had 28 participants and 10 vehicles. We could manage 4 obstacles a day starting 8:00 am in the morning. Imagine if we had 4 obstacles with 40+ vehicles starting at 10 am. I am sure we would have ended late night. Its all about the fine balance.

People like Alan, you, David, Nishant and others were there. There are few who weren't. Perhaps they like to do their own thing in a small group.


Having said that, the Lonavala terrain wasn't as tame as you think and beginners/ experienced did a good job living up to the trail. Cancellation of an obstacle because of inability of anyone to clear itself is an indication of trail being tough.

Vinod Ji,
I understand your concern as an organizer and agree to it. I think (may not be in constructive way) that old timers are moving to small privately organized OTRs where they can enjoy to the fullest.
Terrain was not tame, we made most of it. we went on exploring few hidden trails and did 2 hours of private offroad, winching, towing etc

Originally Posted by genesis

If I put 1 and 2 together, as much as I enjoy Thar and Invader owners ogle at the CJ at an event, it translates to not a great ROI for hard core offroading.
For me the MGE's when I started was more of a social event to meet other offroaders and that is achieved by 3.

I dont have a solution to this, nor am I sure it is a problem which needs a solution.

I still feel MGE is still great for inculcating people into offroading and giving them "thrills" they normally dont get in a relatively "controllled" environment.

And from what I heard from folks who were there, it was pretty well organized and they enjoyed the event, which is all that finally matters and not if 'oldies' are present or not (And with that I have exhausted my quota of smilies)

Genesis SIR,
you nailed it down pretty well, and you had one smiley left

As a partcipant's point of view , this event was very well organized. Kudos to Team Mahindra
Shubhendra

[fazalaliadil]

Originally Posted by vinod_nookala

Fazal saab,
We have to cater to wide variety of people. In the same trail there are experienced and beginner's. We cant take chances on beginner's safety. We have to strike a fine balance. New blood is a must for any sport to continue. We are doing our bit to introduce new people and later they graduate to the local off-road clubs.

Having said that, the Lonavala terrain wasn't as tame as you think and beginners/ experienced did a good job living up to the trail. Cancellation of an obstacle because of inability of anyone to clear itself is an indication of trail being tough.

Vinod,

Your concerns are justified..introducing, inculcating and promoting the brand as well as the sport to people who have never been to a track, leave alone driving on one. The transition like this 2WD & 4WD tracks are a nice way of graduating. The first time feel of driving on one is unforgettable.

But, if Mahindra is really serious they should also cater to the Seniors, hold events on tracks that are suitable for them, while the new comers can watch and learn what the next level is.

The fun component is most important as much as the event.

Originally Posted by genesis

And from what I heard from folks who were there, it was pretty well organized and they enjoyed the event, which is all that finally matters and not if 'oldies' are present or not (And with that I have exhausted my quota of smilies)

Well Said!

Originally Posted by Shubhendra

...that old timers are moving to small privately organized OTRs where they can enjoy to the fullest.

Old timers also can enjoy at the fullest participating in a well organized, non competitive big event, where getting together is the primary reason like at AKC, EXAMM, BOATR, WAYANAD, MCUBE etc.

Vinod, plan on these lines. After all old timers too own Thars and other Mahindra Jeeps and would like atlease one annual event organized by the only Jeep manufacturer in India.
Regards,

[Dodge_Viper]

Vishbull_6157, today's DNA newpaper carried this news with your name and reference to TBHP .

http://epaper.dnaindia.com/story.asp...0009&ed_page=7

[carzone]

Originally Posted by Dodge_Viper

Vishbull_6157, today's DNA newpaper carried this news with your name and reference to TBHP .

http://epaper.dnaindia.com/story.asp...0009&ed_page=7

I came down here to report the same. We also have a pic of your ride in there. Great work.

This also means I need to read papers early in the day now! lol

[Vishbull_6157]

What a pleasant surprise and awsome feeling to see my Jeep picture in the DNA newpaper today .

[Shubhendra]

Originally Posted by fazalaliadil

Old timers also can enjoy at the fullest participating in a well organized, non competitive big event, where getting together is the primary reason like at AKC, EXAMM, BOATR, WAYANAD, MCUBE etc.

Fazal Ji,
All events held in western India (AKC, EXAMM, & MCUBE) have been shelved, this leave us to organize small OTRs in our respective area.
We all used to look forward for these events in past. Next year we may have a good national level event in Poona.
Shubhendra

[vinod_nookala]

More pictures from Lonavala Great Escape

[vinod_nookala]

[fazalaliadil]

Vinod,

The pics in post 26,27 definitely suggest it was not a walk in the park, unlike earlier posts.

Do give my suggestion a thought (reg a seniors off road event).
Hyderabad Ramoji Film City has hundreds of acres of virgin land suited for an MGE event of the proposed level, Private property/ land, Two 3&4 star hotel accommodation on campus, Central location for an all India event, E TV belongs to Mr. Ramoji.
What say?

EDIT: Weather is superb from now until mid Feb.
Regards,

[vinod_nookala]

Originally Posted by fazalaliadil

Vinod,

The pics in post 26,27 definitely suggest it was not a walk in the park, unlike earlier posts.

Do give my suggestion a thought (reg a seniors off road event).
Hyderabad Ramoji Film City has hundreds of acres of virgin land suited for an MGE event of the proposed level, Private property/ land, Two 3&4 star hotel accommodation on campus, Central location for an all India event, E TV belongs to Mr. Ramoji.
What say?

EDIT: Weather is superb from now until mid Feb.
Regards,

Fazal saab,
Thanks for your valuable input. However I have some practical problems. When you say cater to the seniors- what would be the definition of a senior? Who would classify as a senior? How does one accept that he is not senior enough to participate in a tough event? What if not so senior attempts an obstacle meant for senior and meets with an accident?

Last year we had seniors in off-road trophy finals like Sarvinder, sunny siddhu, Gogi, Nishant chabria, Gogi bhai etc... Final's were tough and obstacles were meant for seasoned off-roaders with luck playing a major role. Kurian kurian won it followed by locky brar and shubendra who weren't seniors according to me until then.

I understand where you are coming from. Your intent is to provide maximum wheel spin even to a seasoned off-roader. We did precisely that in semi finals and finals where we had control both on terrain and size of the group.

I am looking forward to Hyderabad escape on Aug 18th (somewhere near ramoji film city- yet to be finalized) and even more to sakleshpur escape on 31 aug & 1st September. Terrain is going to be deadly considering the way it is raining Hopefully both beginner's and seasoned off-road guys will have equal fun.

[fazalaliadil]

Originally Posted by vinod_nookala

Fazal saab,
Thanks for your valuable input. However I have some practical problems. When you say cater to the seniors- what would be the definition of a senior? Who would classify as a senior? How does one accept that he is not senior enough to participate in a tough event? What if not so senior attempts an obstacle meant for senior and meets with an accident?

Last year we had seniors in off-road trophy finals like Sarvinder, sunny siddhu, Gogi, Nishant chabria, Gogi bhai etc... Final's were tough and obstacles were meant for seasoned off-roaders with luck playing a major role. Kurian kurian won it followed by locky brar and shubendra who weren't seniors according to me until then.

I understand where you are coming from. Your intent is to provide maximum wheel spin even to a seasoned off-roader. We did precisely that in semi finals and finals where we had control both on terrain and size of the group.

I am looking forward to Hyderabad escape on Aug 18th (somewhere near ramoji film city- yet to be finalized) and even more to sakleshpur escape on 31 aug & 1st September. Terrain is going to be deadly considering the way it is raining Hopefully both beginner's and seasoned off-road guys will have equal fun.

Vinod,

Senior means a person who has done atleast one or two OTR's in any state and NOT a guy who has just bought a 4X4, off the shelf and believes he can attempt any obstacle is not classified under senior.

Sir, it is not a question of hard and fast scrutiny for selecting a senior.
If a person thinks he is a senior or seasoned enough to take on a tough course, let him in and if he has an accident, your 'Indemnity Bond' is covering you anyway, right?

Rules that are too binding take the fun out of any event, you have to be easy on yourself first to be easy on others.

The essence should be not on winning or losing or for that matter a competitive event, it should be about Jeepers getting together and looking forward to an event from Mahindra every year.

Look what Harley did in Goa!

For that matter drop the word 'Senior' or 'Seasoned' just hold an event that is memorable.

I hope you understand what I am trying to put forward here, its not only about wheel spin, it is about an event to remember and look forward to year after year.

Honestly, Vinod I do not expect anything coming from Mahindra, as the attitude is just not there.
Regards,