[dhanushs]

Last December, I had the good fortune of designing an entire course, for an Offroad Challenge organised by Kannur Riders & Offroaders Club (Team KROC) - The Xtreme Offroad Challenge XOC - 2015. From the track, to how the scoring is done, set the rules and regulations and basically everything I got to design, and luckily everything fell in place perfectly - from the team of organizers who were so passionate about the sport, the locals who gave some amazing ground support, to the officials, the vendors, the sponsors, the doctors, the support crew and everyone followed their job responsibility to the T to make the event a GRAND SUCCESS! In this thread, I'll quickly and pictorially share how it all went. Some pictures are missing, however, I'll try to cover most if it.

In Kerala, till date, most, if not all the offroad competitions were merely a "Jeep Autocross" and were only driver oriented. There was one or max two tracks, in which drivers needed to gun their jeeps, jump across some huge humps and finish. The best time would get the prize. The Co-Driver, didnt have much role to play. However, In XOC15, we wanted to make this a different an unique competition, where both the driver, co-driver and the all additional equipment's in the vehicle is put to use. And, we had to do it in One day. So, the competition was designed in such a way that there were 5 Special Stages (SS's).

SS1: The Reverse Trailer Stage
SS2: The Wall Climb stage
SS3: Technical Stage (The Hi-Lift Jack Wheel Changing Stage)
SS4: Technical Stage (Articulation & Co-Driver Strength)
SS5: The Sprint Stage

The scoring was done on obstacle basis and time basis. For example, if there were 10 obstacles in an SS, each obstacle would be allocated a certain number of points. The total of which comes to 100 points. So, if you complete all the obstacles then you get 100 points. Also, the time you enter into the SS & come out of the SS is noted.

Here's the competition handbook that we had prepared and published close to a month before the event. More on this when I explain each SS in detail.

[dhanushs]

Event Itenary of the Xtreme Offroad Challenge - 2015 (XOC 2015) was:



Saturday, December 19th:

The event venue was @ BCM Residency in Kuthuparamba, near Kannur.



The registration was planned to start at 2:00 PM, and as rarely that happens, vehicles started to come in exactly on time. The registration process was well planned and went really well. As usual, the participants had to fill up forms, sign indemnity etc.. etc.. The registration charge was 3900 per head (7800 per vehicle). The registration kit included stickers, one t-shirt, one competition handbook per vehicle, name tags, a couple of bottles of water and some snacks.



The hotel had around 35 rooms, and a huge underground parking. All the participants and Marshals were accommodated in the hotel. Right after the registration, participants were given keys to their rooms. However, since vehicle scrutiny happened simultaneously when the registration happened, most of the participants decided to check in only after the scrutiny.

In vehicle scrutiny, the Mandatory equipment and overall vehicle condition were judged.

The Scrutiny Check Points were:

• Seat Belts for driver & co-driver
• Working 4 Wheel Drive
• Registration & License Details
• Working Brakes
• Helmets for Driver & Codriver
• 5 Ton rated tow rope & D-Hook
• Pintle HOOK for Trailer Stage
• Front and Back towing points
• Spare Tyre
• Wheel spanner & Jack
• 4 Point Roll cage

Some pictures of the vehicles that came to the event.









































After the vehicle scrutiny, we had an elaborate drivers briefing. The whole of the competition handbook was gone through. Rules, Scoring, Safety, Indemnity, Prizes, everything... Right after the drivers briefing, we decided to pick lots. There were total 37 vehicles. These 37 vehicles were grouped into five, on the basis of Special Stages. After which, each individual groups came forward to pick lots to decide which among them will start first in which Special Stage (SS) .

After this was done, the Marshal's sheet was filled with the order of competition numbers, in each SS. Since, reporting time at each SS was strict and there was a penalty if it was not followed, this was very important.



This was followed by an elaborate dinner party. This is the best part of an event, as far as participants are concerned. They catch up with old friends, have great Jeep chit chat. However, when you are an organiser, you still have loads of work to get done. IIRC, the dinner time for us was 1:00 AM that day. After dinner, we called it a night, expecting an early rise & a big day tomorrow.

[dhanushs]

Sunday, December 20th, 2015.

This was a HUGE Day. It was the day, the Xtreme Offroad Challenge 2015 would happen. Where months of planning, recce, effort and money put in would be realized.

The day started on a great note. Wakeup call to all the rooms were given at 6:00 AM. Delicious breakfast was served at 7:00 AM. At the time which, participants were given instructions to get ready as soon as possible for the line up and flag off, which was decided to happen at 8:30 AM, by the RTO Kannur. However, as usual by the time all the participants were ready, we could only leave the hotel by around ~9:00 AM, and the flag off happened at ~9:30 AM.

Preparing for the Competition. Changing to competition tyres.





All lining up ready to leave.



At the Competition Venue.







Vehicles Arriving at the competition site.

https://youtu.be/GW9wBB26QKE

[dhanushs]

Special Stage 1: The Reverse Trailer Stage

In this stage, the participants had to start off in reverse. With the trailer hooked on to the Jeeps pintle hooks. After the start whistle, they had to reverse the trailer to a specific trailer parking spot, then unhook the trailer, and drive forward. The forward drive included nice articulating bumps, a short but sweet and steep incline, where you get beached if you didn't have the clearance or speed, and then drive through articulating bumps again, climb down a short and steep slope to the trailer parking spot. After which, you again had to hook the trailer and drive to the finish line.

The First Turn with the trailer was 20 points, If you reach the trailer parking spot, you'd get 30 points, and the 10 points each for all the forward driving obstacles, except for the steep climb (.. the one which you got beached) was 20 points. The total points for the SS was 100 points, with 6 obstacles.

After finishing this stage, the participants had to move on and report to the next SS (SS 2) within 10 minutes, or they'd get penalized. Also, all the participants who finished SS5 had to come and report to this stage (SS1) in 10 minuted after their run in SS5, or they'd be penalized. If your vehicle broke down or requires some maintenance, you'd have to report to the next SS marshal and ask for time approval. The Marshal would then communicate it to me, who was the course master. I'd go and check out the vehicle, which if worthy, was approved 30 mins time to repair. After which, they'd be penalized 10 points.

The Stage Specific Penalties for this stage were (Apart from the common ones)

• Failure to park the trailer properly inside the parking spot. (10 Points)
• Failure to stop trying after marshal whistles. (10 Points)
• Damaging the trailer. (10 Points)

A remapped Thar CRDe with 35 inch Silverstone Tyres trying it out.



A Major covering the steep dip to the trailer.









Co-Driver trying to push the vehicle out, after he was beached at a steep climb. Hats off to the guy, put his whole effort and got the vehicle out.



And, the Gypsy came up in the 2nd try.



However, he was very unlucky. His accelerator pedal got stuck at max rpm, and his engine blew up with more than 5 minutes of continuous high revving.



Some Videos of the Stage:

A Thar reversing the trailer:

https://youtu.be/pXn9_VugXiw

A Simple Vehicle from Puttur showing however good the vehicle is, its the driver/co-driver team that matters.

https://youtu.be/GwXgExJfVhw

A Gypsy

https://youtu.be/j7RfQzfvfvA

A Thar

https://youtu.be/5Ph8wFSz-sc

Some of them had trouble reversing:

https://youtu.be/_cgm46-r9d8

Here's the Gypsy whose accelerator pedal was stuck, and engine blew up.

https://youtu.be/hlVyJnNDPHc

Ajay Shetty , the 2nd place winner doing SS1

https://youtu.be/5DXx0ykRJPA

Special Stage 2: The Wall Climb Stage.

This was a fun stage, and was driver involving. It started off by the vehicle requiring to tackle a V shaped 25 meter rut filled with boulders. You cover this obstacle, you get 10 points. After which, there was this ~60 degree 10 foot incline which when covered got you 20 points. And then, you had to drive through huge 3 feet tall humps, to the articulating pits. You cover the humps you get 10 points, and then you cover the articulation pits you get 10 points more. After this one had to drive 20 meters tilted to the right straight to a tricky pit. You finish the tilt driving, you get 10 points. After this you drive straight to a tricky pit. The secret to this obstacle was to have the right approach angle, otherwise you'd just get sucked into the pit and get stuck badly. If you covered this, you get 10 points. After this was a fun ~30 feet steep drop, and then a climb through a rut to the exit. The drop was 10 points and the climb to the exit was 10 points.

Total 100 points for this Special Stage.

There were no stage specific penalties for this stage, apart from the general ones.





The Articulation Pits







Some Videos of SS2:

A 540 doing obstacle 7 & 8.

https://youtu.be/o6SN67oMwUU

A Thar doing obstacle 3,4,5.

https://youtu.be/53qpPbySOBw

[dhanushs]

Special Stage 3: Technical Stage (The Hi-Lift Jack Wheel Changing Stage)

This was the Hi-Lift Jack Wheel changing stage. ie, Once the start whistle goes off, you had to get down, put your vehicle on to the hi-lift jack, remove the wheel, go round the vehicle with the wheel, and put the wheel back.

The Stage Specific Penalties for this stage were:

• Failure to put stopper to the tyres to prevent rolling off (10 Points)
• Bringing your head in the path of the Jack Handle. (10 Points)
• Jack Slipping off the mounting. (10 Points)
• Failure to follow any other safety precautions.

Special Stage 4: Technical Stage (Articulation & Technique)

This was also a technical stage. In this stage there was a ~30-40 degree ramp. The objective of this stage was to get your front right wheel as far up the ramp as possible using any means. This was basically a modification of the RTI (Ramp Travel Index) . Initially I thought of using the RTI, however, most of the vehicles coming in didnt have much modifications for articulation. Also, I wanted to throw in a little bit of fun into it. So, changed the RTI to as far as you can go up the ramp. Using any means!

Now, using any means meant teams using all sorts of crazy techniques. Also, it needed a driver with balls of steel to drive your vehicle up till the toppling point.

The Stage Specific Penalties for this stage were:

• Toppling. (10 Points)

Couple of vehicles trying it out.





Using any means, teams trying out come crazy means to move the farthest in the ramp.











Some went overboard and toppled. However, the topple was controlled and extremely safe.






Special Stage 5: The Sprint Stage.

Well, for a driver, this stage was the most fun, since this stage was the only one which allowed you to put pedal to metal in some places, and there were some obstacles which could be tackled only with speed. It was also the longest stage. This stage had 10 obstacles and 10 points each for 10 obstacles. Since we plenty of photos and videos to explain this stage, I'll let them do the talking.





































A Thar remapped with Code6 trying SS5:

https://youtu.be/BYjZg7D2Qyo

Again a simple vehicle showing, its the team, not the vehicle that matter.

https://youtu.be/yKNFk2WAG4Q

A Thar CRDe finding obstacle 3 difficult.

https://youtu.be/livKjfK5ucg

Here's a couple of Gypsys and a Thar doing SS5:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9hqplZf2sU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bT1T0cwAGJs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qX-fO1dH0UE

A full video of a Gypsy completing SS5:

https://youtu.be/mwpJQBT2yu8

[dhanushs]

There was a pause between 1:30 and 2:00 PM for lunch break, and all the stages were over by ~5:00 PM in the evening. Now, it was time for tabulation and prize distribution.

Some of the marshals and officials tired and resting.. Waiting for the tabulation to get over.



The Announcement Starts!



And, finally, the Overall Standings is published! One of the best things about having multiple stages, which require different set of skills is that, you need to be absolutely consistent in your performance. There is no use performing outstandingly in one or two or three stages and doing badly in one. Infact, the successful equation here was, perform moderately in all the Special Stages, so that your vehicle too is preserved for you to maintain the level of consistency.



And, the WINNERS OF THE XTREME OFFROAD CHALLENGE 2015 (XOC15) ARE:



Inspite of our decision of not announcing a press release or gathering a press meet, the event was covered in a couple of channels (video) and some major newspapers.



So, thats all for now. Please do pour in your comments and suggestions on how to improve the event. THANKS!

P.S: Unfortunately, I haven't been able to get hold of the Prize Distribution Ceremony photos. Will upload when I get it.

[tsk1979]

Thread moved to 4x4 Excursions section : Thanks for sharing

[Hazi.Kin]

Thanks Dhanushs for this post. I do agree that KROC event was a professionally organized and successful event. Our team “Team MOAC” actively participated and feedback from them is very good, especially related to accommodation, track and over all coordination of the event. Being the first event conducted by KROC we all had a doubt about the track and coordination. Now I understood, your leadership and experience made this event a successful one. Keep rocking. Let’s try to meet in next event.

[dhanushs]

Originally Posted by Hazi.Kin

Thanks Dhanushs for this post. I do agree that KROC event was a professionally organized and successful event. Our team “Team MOAC” actively participated and feedback from them is very good, especially related to accommodation, track and over all coordination of the event. Being the first event conducted by KROC we all had a doubt about the track and coordination. Now I understood, your leadership and experience made this event a successful one. Keep rocking. Let’s try to meet in next event.

Thanks for the kind words Hazi.Kin. And, yes, thank you to your team for all the support they've shown.

We look forward towards hosting a bigger and badder event next time.

[Sutripta]

Originally Posted by dhanushs

[i][b]Special Stage 1: The Reverse Trailer Stage

Next time with a 4 wheeled trailer!

Regards
Sutripta

[Dry Ice]

Fantastic coverage!

Originally Posted by dhanushs

However, he was very unlucky. His accelerator pedal got stuck at max rpm, and his engine blew up with more than 5 minutes of continuous high revving.

Pardon me for asking, but wasn't switching off the engine an option?

[dhanushs]

Originally Posted by Sutripta

Next time with a 4 wheeled trailer!

Yes!

Originally Posted by Dry Ice

Pardon me for asking, but wasn't switching off the engine an option?

Well, I guess he couldnt. Or something else.

[fighterace]

Originally Posted by dhanushs

Attachment 1483631

And, finally, the Overall Standings is published!

Is the winner the driver of the simple vehicle from Puttur? What configuration was he running- 500D or Major? Any mods? Tyres? I must say it was an impressive performance.

[dhanushs]

Originally Posted by fighterace

Is the winner the driver of the simple vehicle from Puttur? What configuration was he running- 500D or Major? Any mods? Tyres? I must say it was an impressive performance.

Yup. Its the simple barebones vehicle from Puttur. IIRC its a Major. Like I mentioned before, when you have multiple stages, the important thing is to be consistant. Most of the other vehicles has some or the other issue in any one of the stages. This vehicle, thought not a spectacular run in all stages, was very consistent. Hence the top spot.

I would say the thing which worked in advantage for him is that he was running mere barebones. ie, the vehicle was very light.

The tyres were 6.00 x 16 . Here however, he was slightly lucky to have gone in some stages towards the end. Otherwise these tyres at the beginning of the stage wouldnt have worked out.

[DHABHAR.BEHRAM]

Dear Dhanush - FANTASTIC ACHIEVEMENT, CONGRATULATIONS! . It was so nice to see the pictures and videos. I really felt as if I was there, and driving! . Keep up the good work, and please convey my best wishes to all your team members who made this happen.

Best regards,

Behram Dhabhar