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Old 21st July 2014, 20:01   #1
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Mahindra Great Escape - Lonavla on 26th July, 2014

Hi Guys,
Got to know that the Great Escape Lonavala is scheduled for the 26th July 2014.
Its 11,500/- for two for the competitive category. Now that seems a bit steep for a days event to me.
I wanted to get some info about this category.

Have any one of you participated and whats your feedback on the event?
Is it worth it?

Thanks
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Old 22nd July 2014, 13:17   #2
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re: Mahindra Great Escape - Lonavla on 26th July, 2014

Most of us have stopped participating in the MGE. No doubt it was a great initiative and one of it's kind when it started.

The MGE - non competitive saw a lot of vehicles and the waiting time was too much specially with 2wds thrown in the mix (although they have now segregated 2wd and 4wd, it's still a pain).

The competitive part has left many people fuming because the judging criteria is arbitrary and not clear cut. Two years ago, we where told to get our souped up vehicles and during the briefing were told that there would be negative points for MT tyres.

I really hope that the team can cut down on the number of entries and make the judging clearer. I've always supported the MGE initiative but with these kind of fees, it's not worth it in my book.

Having said that, all the best to Vinod and the team.

Let us know if you need our help, we're always there.
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Old 22nd July 2014, 14:40   #3
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Re: Mahindra Great Escape - Lonavla on 26th July, 2014

Quote:
Originally Posted by Tejas@perioimpl View Post
Most of us have stopped participating in the MGE. No doubt it was a great initiative
I think it's still a great initiative to get beginners offroading. Mahindra's reach & operations can get those newbies in who otherwise wouldn't even have heard of offroading. The participation numbers prove there is healthy demand for such an initiative.

Quote:
The MGE - non competitive saw a lot of vehicles and the waiting time was too much specially with 2wds thrown in the mix
Trick is to register early and get a top 20 starting position for your 4x4

Quote:
The competitive part has left many people fuming
Prize & ranking aside, how's the track & terrain? Fun?
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Old 22nd July 2014, 21:58   #4
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Re: Mahindra Great Escape - Lonavla on 26th July, 2014

Quote:
Originally Posted by vipinmishra View Post
Its 11,500/- for two for the competitive category. Now that seems a bit steep for a days event to me.
Personally I would stay away from competitive part as Tejas explained. Mostly the Rally stalwarts judge the event. I have been there and done that and got confused how did they pick the winners.. In fact walking up the trail and judging the terrain attracts penalty

But I would definitely like to go in for the adventure category, which is mostly on day one and day two is competitive event. The price for adventure should be less I suppose

Quote:
Originally Posted by Tejas@perioimpl View Post
The competitive part has left many people fuming because the judging criteria is arbitrary and not clear cut. Two years ago, we where told to get our souped up vehicles and during the briefing were told that there would be negative points for MT tyres.
Most of us were also caught unaware.

Quote:
Originally Posted by GTO View Post
IThe participation numbers prove there is healthy demand for such an initiative.
That's true, we see a lot of participation from the newbie's. Even if we register early, it does not matter as the vehicle convoy is not based on the vehicle numbers that is allocated.

The only trick is to find out where the starting flag is and get your vehicle parked nearby, so that you would be a part of the first batch of vehicles that move out.

The track and terrain are really unbeatable. Somehow they manage to get hold of good private estates and get a real great show within. I would say, the south India challenges are really worth a holiday.

Last edited by Twinn : 22nd July 2014 at 22:01.
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Old 22nd July 2014, 22:42   #5
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Re: Mahindra Great Escape - Lonavla on 26th July, 2014

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Originally Posted by Twinn View Post
But I would definitely like to go in for the adventure category, which is mostly on day one and day two is competitive event. The price for adventure should be less I suppose
The track and terrain are really unbeatable. Somehow they manage to get hold of good private estates and get a real great show within. I would say, the south India challenges are really worth a holiday.
Guess a noob question. Does adventure entry too have off roading?

Well, the reason for asking is. I am not keen on off-roading, however have seen the places they conduct these events. Would love to enroll for any non-competitive event, get a close look at how the event is run all while enjoying a holiday. I own a Mahindra vehicle.
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Old 23rd July 2014, 00:31   #6
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Re: Mahindra Great Escape - Lonavla on 26th July, 2014

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Originally Posted by mpksuhas View Post
Guess a noob question. Does adventure entry too have off roading?
Oh yeah, it does buddy. Infact most of the MGE's just have one track and the same track is used of both categories. You can always bypass the obstacle if you cannot conquer it.

The competitive event will also be mostly hosted on the same track with all obstacle that the adventure folks had, plus few high end obstacle for the competitor.

I reckon you should try one MGE event
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Old 23rd July 2014, 15:40   #7
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Re: Mahindra Great Escape - Lonavla on 26th July, 2014

11.5k for just competition <gulp> that is way too steep. I am a fan of Mahindra events since they are generally well organized and whatever facilities etc they provide are good. The trail stuff that they offer are one of the few remaining normal trail outings (read non competitive) we get to do these days in south.

But 11.5 for gompatition, which generally means max 10 minutes of drive.... way too much.
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Old 23rd July 2014, 16:17   #8
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Re: Mahindra Great Escape - Lonavla on 26th July, 2014

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jaggu View Post
11.5k for just competition <gulp> that is way too steep. I am a fan of Mahindra events since they are generally well organized and whatever facilities etc they provide are good. The trail stuff that they offer are one of the few remaining normal trail outings (read non competitive) we get to do these days in south.

But 11.5 for gompatition, which generally means max 10 minutes of drive.... way too much.
You nailed it, In an entire day its hardly 30-40 mins of offrodaing for each vehicle, rest of the time to keep you busy they will keep on reminding you 'Get ready, get lost'
I dont think MGE is for old timers now, may be because we are no more cash cows for them.....

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Old 23rd July 2014, 18:32   #9
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Re: Mahindra Great Escape - Lonavla on 26th July, 2014

Not to mention the restriction of co-passengers in the adventure category, earlier we could have 3-5 people in one car. Now its limited only for 1 co-passenger, which takes the fun factor off, but their locations are quiet stunning and exotic. Same Apprehensions on the classification of extreme winners. Hope they come up with a solution for it. Wouldn't mind participating in the drives with family and friends, as it is the only event where we can show them how fun off-roading can be, as all the other events are more of competition based, kids and not so daring family members aren't allowed to participate as a co-driver. It is more like a family day event on 4 wheels
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Old 25th July 2014, 18:15   #10
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Re: Mahindra Great Escape - Lonavla on 26th July, 2014

Well it's pretty clear by the cumulative posts that its overpriced for sure.
Good as the trails might be, I'm sure if a gang of jeepers head out and explore the area, a lot of fun can be had with out spending big bucks or the un necessary wait time that'll take most of the day in an event such as this.

But yes, please do post if any of you plan to head out anytime soon.
I would love to sign up. Especially if we could get some action before the RFC.
Just haven't been able to find company to take the Thar out Ex Mumbai!
Cheers.
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Old 26th July 2014, 17:07   #11
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Re: Mahindra Great Escape - Lonavla on 26th July, 2014

The adventure category is priced at 4450 for two persons this year.
Me and my wife participated last year in adventure category at Sakleshpur. It was Rs 3350/- then including breakfast, lunch, snacks and merchandise. Absolutely loved it, food and all arrangement was excellent. We drove in our Scorpio 4wd. Sakleshpur event was only for 4wd vehicles, even then there were about 50+ vehicles. We started in the first lot (6th or 7th) and enjoyed it, planning to go this year too.

Last edited by gypsyFreak : 26th July 2014 at 17:08. Reason: typo error
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Old 9th August 2014, 23:38   #12
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Re: Mahindra Great Escape - Lonavla on 26th July, 2014

Hi Guys,
We had a fantastic Great Escape at Lonavala on 26th July 2014. The entries were restricted to 55 overall. Had about 18 vehicles in 2wd category, 28 vehicles in trail drive and 9 entries for the great escape Trophy.

There were 3 routes devised for 2wd, 4wd trail & specially designed obstacles for Trophy participants.

We came up with 5 obstacles of which only 4 could be concluded. The first obstacle was a long but difficult climb over deep ruts and big slippery rocks. The second obstacle was a raging stream crossing. This tested both navigator and drivers capability. The third obstacle was a deep pond crossing. We saw 2 vehicles stalling in bonnet deep water as they did not apply right fording techniques. and the fourth obstacle was negotiating tight turns over a shallow stream full of rocks and slippery grass.

Pictures only do half justice to the actual difficulty level. We congratulate the winners of Lonavala 2014 edition of off-road trophy. They win an all paid trip to Igatpuri near Nasik where they would complete for the coveted title of India's best off-roader where the winner gets to take home a brand new THAR CRDe 4x4!

Stock category
Winner: Chandgude Shrikant & Chandgude Rohit
Runner-up: Machado Marshall & Shetty Sudesh

Modified category
Winner: Shindolkar Tejas & Audi Pushker
Runner-up: Kaushal Vyas & Mulik Saurabh
Attached Thumbnails
Mahindra Great Escape - Lonavla on 26th July, 2014-hillclimb1.jpg  

Mahindra Great Escape - Lonavla on 26th July, 2014-hillclimb2.jpg  

Mahindra Great Escape - Lonavla on 26th July, 2014-judge1.jpg  

Mahindra Great Escape - Lonavla on 26th July, 2014-judge2.jpg  

Mahindra Great Escape - Lonavla on 26th July, 2014-quarry1.jpg  

Mahindra Great Escape - Lonavla on 26th July, 2014-quarry2.jpg  

Mahindra Great Escape - Lonavla on 26th July, 2014-quarry3.jpg  

Mahindra Great Escape - Lonavla on 26th July, 2014-quarry4.jpg  

Mahindra Great Escape - Lonavla on 26th July, 2014-quarry5.jpg  

Mahindra Great Escape - Lonavla on 26th July, 2014-rivercross1.jpg  


Last edited by vinod_nookala : 9th August 2014 at 23:41.
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Old 9th August 2014, 23:43   #13
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Re: Mahindra Great Escape - Lonavla on 26th July, 2014

Some more pictures..
Attached Thumbnails
Mahindra Great Escape - Lonavla on 26th July, 2014-rivercross2.jpg  

Mahindra Great Escape - Lonavla on 26th July, 2014-trail1.jpg  

Mahindra Great Escape - Lonavla on 26th July, 2014-trail2.jpg  

Mahindra Great Escape - Lonavla on 26th July, 2014-9280_10152594027324173_2321258738519371193_n.jpg  

Mahindra Great Escape - Lonavla on 26th July, 2014-1910630_10152594029399173_632338152424891759_n.jpg  

Mahindra Great Escape - Lonavla on 26th July, 2014-1912129_10152594017164173_6730144671160926763_n.jpg  

Mahindra Great Escape - Lonavla on 26th July, 2014-10343690_10152594017219173_7805225552035969488_n.jpg  

Mahindra Great Escape - Lonavla on 26th July, 2014-10406548_10152594028609173_8123714469499872846_n.jpg  

Mahindra Great Escape - Lonavla on 26th July, 2014-10513534_10152594028669173_492855933058951077_n.jpg  

Mahindra Great Escape - Lonavla on 26th July, 2014-10534773_10152594028769173_7605335456809976156_n.jpg  

Mahindra Great Escape - Lonavla on 26th July, 2014-10547667_10152594026014173_8507661486240141969_n.jpg  

Mahindra Great Escape - Lonavla on 26th July, 2014-10247450_10152594029124173_6211843782257741029_n.jpg  

Mahindra Great Escape - Lonavla on 26th July, 2014-winners1.jpg  


Last edited by vinod_nookala : 9th August 2014 at 23:52.
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Old 10th August 2014, 11:43   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by vinod_nookala View Post
Hi Guys,
We had a fantastic Great Escape at Lonavala on 26th July 2014. The entries were restricted to 55 overall. Had about 18 vehicles in 2wd category, 28 vehicles in trail drive and 9 entries for the great escape Trophy.

Congratulations, and yet we missed it again, the pictures show that the restricted numbers results in better management


Please also share more pictures and videos of the stages that were tough, specially of those that could not be completed


Sent from my iPad using Team-BHP
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Old 10th August 2014, 21:29   #15
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Re: Mahindra Great Escape - Lonavla on 26th July, 2014

@Vinod,
Can you please explain the modified category? Is MT tyre in modified or stock? similarly wide axles is modified right? or does it mean replaced engine / gearbox.

Thanks
Andy
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