[dhanushs]

The Twilight Stage & Final Day:



Here are the results after the Terminator Stage:


Even after the Terminator stage, there wasn't a clear winner. The Twilight stage was 300 points in total and everyone in the first 5 spots had chances at one or the other category, or could even go for overall.

The twilight stage was labeled as - "Not for the faint hearted". Well, aptly, it was a stage in which teams had to enter a jungle (mountain) from one side and exit at the other. No penalties, nothing. You just had to start and end. After the Twilight Stage, there were also two Twilight Special Stages.

Here are some moments of the Twilight stage:




























Swastik Viji after 7 days of supporting the BODA team physically and mentally!


Vaneeta, the lady who was there with the Gerraris at all times!


The TEAM!


Twilight Stage Photo Credits to: RFC India Facebook Page.

After Twilight, there were 2 more stages on the 31st. The final 2 SS's (SS 25 & 26) were only for those participants who completed the twilight in time. Good thing was that ALL the participants (barring one) completed the Twilight section in time.

The SS's were supposed to start at 7.30 sharp in morning & all participants had to line up when their number was called. No waiting time given. After completion of SS 25, they had to report straight to SS 26 within 5 minutes, else would get a DNS.

SS 25:
This was a short bit of slalom driving followed by few rock boulders and a sharp u-turn up a slope and then a dash to the finish box. The tricky part was the presence of several pegs (30 penalty points if you knock them down).

The first 5-6 cars did it easily and got good timing:








Siddu, #114 from B.O.D.A got the best timing through use of independent brakes though the course, where others had to take 3-point turns around the slalom part of the course.


After few cars, the track started becoming tricky & people started getting stuck big time and quite a few got DNFs here:




Notice how the track has become now:


Here's a video of #115 doing part of SS 25:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CR2KgTdkfZQ

SS 26:

This was a tyre changing SS. You had to change the tyre of a Gurkha with the tools provided. Most got this done, with the Malaysian Team having the best timing here:

[dhanushs]

The Results:

The Twilight stage thus came to an end. Now it was time to know who would take the coveted, "India's Toughest Offroad Challenge" winner trophy!





The prize distribution happened in the International Center, Dona Paula, Goa.

Overall

The Winners - Tan Eng Joo & Tan Choon Hong:




1st Runner Up - Mervyn Lim & Hamizan Bin Abdul Hamid:


2nd Runner Up - Kabir Warich & Yuvraj Tiwana:



Upto 1600 cc Petrol or Diesel Category:

Winner: Gurmeet Virdi & Kirpal Tung:


1st Runner Up: Cedrick Dasilva & Floyd Preston:


2nd Runner Up: Siddhartha Santosh & Yanren Jamio:



2nd Runner Up - Category 1601 - 2600 cc Diesel - Prashant GV & Rohit:
(Viji receiving the prize for Prashant)



1st Runner Up - Category 2600 cc & Above Petrol or Diesel - Chaithanya Challa & Manpreet Singh:


2nd Runner Up - Category 2600 cc & Above Petrol or Diesel - Kranti Kumar Vengala & Dhanraj Reddy:


UTV winner Guhan Shetty & Raj Singh Rathore:


Team Spirit Award for BODA Bangalore:


Team Award for Gerrari Off-roaders:


Environment Award : Sam & Harkeerat:


Special Award in recognition of bringing vehicles to RFC Global Standards - Jaskirat Singh Nagra (Sarbloh Motors):


Jungleman Award : Abhinav Nookala & Laxmikanth:


Prize Distribution Photo Credits to RFC India Facebook Page

[Rehaan]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line.


Wow, what an awesome event & detailed report!

Even to a casual observer, these setups look a notch above last year's stuff. Everyone sure has stepped up their game

Here's last year's RFC 2014 report : link

And here's a great thread on the competition-focused offroad modifications seen here: link

[Samurai]

Outstanding report Dhanush. Your eye for details is exceptional. Too bad you missed out on the media challenge by just one point.

What a leap from the last year's effort, both in vehicle preparation and team dynamics. Proud to see all 3 teams from BODA finish in the top ten.

[amansanc]

What a brilliantly detailed report sir! Thoroughly enjoyed reading it and watching the videos. Felt as if i experiences it live

[Shubhendra]

Amazing report Dhanush ! you really put lot of efforts getting this structured nicely.
Saw you during my initial two days visit but couldnt catch-up, next time will meet up for sure.
There is one typo, Its NIOC (North India Offroad club) not NOIC

Regards,
Shubhendra Singh

[Aditya]

Fantastic report, Dhanush. The pictures, videos and detailed description can get anyone hooked onto this thread. It's like re-living the event. Have to appreciate the effort you have put in.

RFC is here to stay. It's taken off-roading in India to a new level. More and more people are looking to participate with each passing edition. Each year the challenge is bound to get tougher.

I'd like to see more factory teams (Mahindra / Maruti / Tata) take part and give a chance to our local talent to show their skills.

[sudev]

Lovely read. I must complaint that such report should not be read during the day. Took toll of office work

[fusionbang]

Brilliant report Dhanush, literally I was glued to this thread and it made me virtually experience the event.

Hats off buddy for your presentation & writing skills Rating a well deserved 5 stars!

[fiat_tarun]

Brilliant report. I have been on a couple of OTR's and think I enjoyed the watching part more than the driving / being in the vehicle part (too tense inside the vehicle ). The obstacles here are on another level !

Originally Posted by dhanushs

.....

The interior with all the switches. Notice that the lockers are switch-operated, giving me the impression that they are Air Lockers. Also notice the free spool, and the high idle switches. Very very useful in competitive and extreme off-roading:
.....

The Force vehicles had Eaton ELockers, an electronic diff. lock

[aah78]

Fantastic report, dhanush!

Loved the vehicle close-up pictures, which we don't get to see too often and of course, your detailed description of all the stages.
You took us there.

[khan_sultan]

What a splendid & detailed report!!! Can't get better than this. For people not there, it's like a virtual tour and it's like reliving those wonderful moments again for people who were there at RFC. Kudos Dhanush!!!!

For me, as a SS Marshal, it was difficult(impossible) to see what other SS's were like, what was happening there etc. Your report gives me a virtual tour of ALL the SS's.

As mentioned already by several people here, the standard of RFC -- in ALL aspects was raised to another level all together. Everything was BIGGER, BADDER & TOUGHER.

For me, couple of points stand out from this year RFC, apart from the vehicle builds:

#1: The skill level of the 2 Malaysians are something outstanding. It's a sheer pleasure to watch them perform and so much to learn from them -- especially their spatial understanding of the terrain, which part of the natural terrain to use for recovery/winching etc, recovery during SS if things don't go as per plan. Sometimes, i wonder if they are given RFC prepped jeeps/gypsy, would they perform even better than the Gurkhas? Personally, I would love to see a top Malaysian driver-co-driver doing the Indian RFC in a gypsy/jeep

#2: The top 4-5 Indian guys are very evenly matched with Kabir leading the pack. However, the rest of the bunch is as good as it gets and the competition was very close -- which in my opinion is very good. Imagine only 70 odd points separated the 3rd from 6th. One can't afford to relax or make silly mistakes as it can cost very dearly in terms of overall rankings.

#3: As the exposure & technique of Indian teams increases, they can & will beat the best international off-roaders sooner than later.
An example is from the Hi-Lift winching stage. Last year, NO Indian team could finish the Hi-Lift winching SS and struggled big time in that SS. This year it's the Indian team that had the fastest time in that SS -- beating the Malaysians, and many Indian finishing the SS successfully. This is a clear indication that once we know the technique & do enough practice, we can then compete with the best out there.

#4: The Touring Adventurers: Not much is talked about them, but for me they are also the unsung hero's out there & a significant part of the soul of the event. Each region had a big contingent of Touring Party -- Hyderabad, Gerrari, Bangalore, Polaris, Gokak etc.
The bonding & talks that happened during the day/nights in those camps were special. These guys really brought life, energy, fun & carnival atmosphere to the event. Without them the event would not be this much fun. All learning from last year were taken and incorporated and they were ready for ALL things in their camps. Imagine, people had brought Karaoke machines in camps where at night they sand songs but with rules that offroad words/terms had to be woven in the song. There were teams which had brought a portable mosquito fumigation machine, Own chefs, with buffet spreads/ pagodas etc. They all, in addition to being touring adventurers, were the support lifeline of the competitors, their cheer leaders etc. So much fun. Kudos guys. You guys deserve a round of applause for being there without being competitors..!!!

[dhanushs]

Originally Posted by Samurai

... Too bad you missed out on the media challenge by just one point...

A bad workman blames his tools, hence I've not said this.
But, for some weird reason, the reverse gear of my automatic Polaris just wouldn't slot!!.. I had a Polaris expert from the company, as my co-driver, he tried and still it didn't fall! Else.... .
I lost 39 seconds in that Fiasco. My time was 1.53 and the first timing IIRC was 1.26.

Originally Posted by Shubhendra

There is one typo, Its NIOC (North India Offroad club) not NOIC

Thanks!

Originally Posted by khan_sultan

.....
They all, in addition to being touring adventurers, were the support lifeline of the competitors, their cheer leaders etc. So much fun. Kudos guys. You guys deserve a round of applause for being there without being competitors..!!!

As I mentioned, you can only win the RFC as a TEAM. Very very important point. Thanks for highlighting it.

[mashmash]

Oh Boy what fantastic coverage. One of the best on the forum. The weather, the terrain, lighting conditions, etc. are not at all ideal, however, still you managed to get brilliant photographs and videos. I guess a should go to your gear too along with your narration. Do mention your gear details and how you protected it against rain, muck, etc.

[thewhiteknight]

Fantastic report Dhanush! Easily one of the most immersive reports on tbhp. The quality of reporting, photos, et al is absolutely brilliant. I read and re-read every post multiple times before I could move on.

The prep from the teams, the level of skills is definitely on the rise. Last years' RFC was an eye-opener to me; your coverage of this years' event is actually making this aspirational!

One request, do you have any videos of the twilight stages?