Mahindra Adventure Club Challenge And Thar Fest 2016

Think of the Mahindra Thar and what comes to mind instantly are marshlands, jungles and water-crossings, all of which are cakewalk for it. The Thar has been one of the most desirable 4x4s in the country, having proven its mettle by climbing over almost any and everything that comes in its way. And I guess it doesn’t get better than experiencing its might first hand, which is why we rushed to Goa for the 2016 Mahindra Adventure Club Challenge and Thar Fest.

Mahindra Adventure has an enviable list of events as far as events organised by car manufacturers in India go. They organise everything you could imagine – expeditions, challenges, drives and also compete in rallies with their own factory team! They’ve added two more interesting events to their calendar recently, the Club Challenge and the Thar Fest. The Club Challenge, sees the top 10 off-roading teams from across the country battle it out for the title of being the best team in the nation. On the other hand, the Thar Fest is a carnival for 4x4 enthusiasts and off-roading communities sharing their experiences with the top off-roading teams participating in the Club Challenge. 

The two-day event was held in Goa, and was kick-started aptly with ‘mud therapy’ where Thar owners drove across an obstacle course, followed by the 'Thar Parade' that had all participants driving their vehicles in a convoy. As the sun went down, the competitors took up the ‘Pass the Baton’ challenge in the dark. The task was that three Thars had to co-ordinate with each other to pull logs of wood chained together across an obstacle course consisting of tight turns, ditches and slush pits with uphill sections. The challenge was won by Gerrari Off-roaders from Chandigarh. 

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Next up was the Trouble Trench, wherein teams had to navigate their Thar into a trench, haul it up on jacks and unbolt all four wheels of the SUV. Once done, they had to carry the tyres to the top of the trench in four different directions. The tyres were to be retrieved by a second team and put back on the vehicle and drive it out of the trench. This stage, which tested the team’ co-ordination, was also won by Gerrari Off-Roaders.

Day 2 of the event had the Goal challenge. It put the competitors’ driving skills to the test, as they had to play ‘football’ and try to score a goal driving their Thars, as they dodged a giant ball in a slushy field! Using their Thar’s tyres and bumper to score a goal, team BODA (Bangalore Off-Road Development Authority) managed to win the contest.

Next up was a technical challenge called Trench Trouble 2, for modified vehicles of the team wherein flags that were strategically placed had to be picked up without getting out of their Thars. The stage also had cones that were tactically put in places to increase difficulty. Points were awarded on the number of flags collected and for negotiating through the cones, and the event was won by V5 Off-Roaders. 

The second day also had the ‘Strongest Thar’ contest that gave us a chance to show off our off-roading skills. The challenge involved an obstacle course that had to be completed with wooden logs chained to the back of our Thars. Points were given on the basis of approach towards the obstacles, wheel spin, engine revving, vehicle preservation and external help taken. The event was a tie between us (Zigwheels) and another publication, and both of us were awarded the winner’s trophy! 

The last and final obstacle at the Challenge was an interesting once called the Bus Stop which required extreme negotiation skills as competitors had to drive over an SUV, followed by a water tanker, a bus and then over a few more SUVs and cars. The teams made use of ladders and spare tyres to build a path to overcome the obstacles. The vehicles also made use of wrenches to tug themselves out of the carnage. This contest was jointly won by V5 Coorg Off-Roaders and Gerrari Off-Roaders. 

After two days of mucking around and navigating through the challenging terrains, V5 Off-Roaders from Coorg was adjudged winner of the Mahindra Club Challenge. The second position was secured by Gerrari Off-Roaders Chandigarh, followed by Team Flywheel from Kerala. For me, this was personally an eye-opening experience, and one that not only gave me a chance to see how capable the Mahindra Thar is, but also to experience its might first hand and even come back home with a trophy on what was my first ever outing as far as off-roading is concerned!