Indian Youth Participating in the Toughest Off-Road Race in Malaysia

AnandManjooran of Kerala and his co-driver Vishnu Raj are all set to participate in the Rainforest Challenge Grand Final in Malaysia in 2022.

The first runners-up in the Rainforest Challenge (RFC) India 2021, AnandManjooran and co-driver Vishnu Raj, will represent India at the Global Grand Final of The Rainforest Challenge, which will take place in Malaysia from November 29 to December 8. The Keralan team will be driving their dependable Gypsy, which they have used at all 7 RFC India Editions in which they have competed since 2015, at the next massive off-road motorsport event. For the first time ever, an Indian vehicle will compete in the RFC Grand Final, one of the most difficult off-road motorsport competitions in the world.

AnandManjooran, a 38-year-old businessman from Kottayam, is thrilled to be the first Indian driver to enter the competition, not just driving an Indian vehicle but also with an all-Indian crew. The other teams may have more sophisticated vehicles than we have, but I'm proud that an Indian registration number vehicle will be competing at RFC Malaysia for the first time. Our Gypsy will be the first Indian vehicle to compete in the competition, despite the fact that we have previously had Indian teams competing in the RFC Grand Final. Our entire team will be made up of Indians because we are also bringing a service team of three persons from India.

"This is the realisation of a long-cherished dream," he continued. We had some difficulties completing the paperwork for the vehicle to be transferred to Malaysia because it took us some time to comprehend the procedures. I'm hopeful that now that we have successfully crossed all the barriers, we can pave the door for more Indians to participate in big international sports events like RFC Malaysia. As a result of our participation in the competition this year, I am also expecting that the government will continue to support us more in the future.

According to Skoda Motorsport, the Rainforest Challenge of Malaysia is the third-toughest off-road race in the world (2018). The competition, which has 45 editions and takes place in 22 nations, tests the competitors' driving and vehicle recovery abilities, teamwork, and physical and mental toughness in challenging off-road situations. The Delhi-based Cougar Motorsport introduced the RFC India Edition in 2014, and each year the top Indian driver of RFC India is given a free automatic entry to the RFC Global Grand Final.

The India entry for the 2021 RFC Grand Final was carried over to the subsequent edition because the epidemic prevented the 2021 event. AnandManjooran, who finished in second place, was given a chance after Chandigarh's KabirWaraich, the RFC India 2021 champion, forfeited his entry.

Cougar Motorsport's founder and director, Mr Ashish Gupta, wished them well for their time at the RFC 2022 Grand Final and added, "The international part of RFC only comes through when a winning team from the country goes and competes in the Grand Final. It's wonderful that an Indian team is participating after a few-year break because it maintains the event's leading. Additionally, an Indian vehicle is moving for the first time, which is amazing. I wish Anand and Vishnu the best of luck in their future challenge and am hopeful that they will successfully complete all of the Special stages of the competition.

It's interesting to note that prior to this competition, neither Anand nor co-driver Vishnu had ever visited Malaysia. They understand that the voyage will be challenging for them in this utterly foreign environment. We debated this for a year before deciding to take part, according to Anand. We did not have much time to prepare because we were preoccupied with the paperwork to deliver our car. However, we have seen numerous recordings of the earlier competitions and have been routinely communicating with Malaysian drivers who have previously raced in RFC India. We anticipate most of the terrain to be slushy and are aware that the Malaysian Twilight Zone can be quite challenging and linger anywhere from 24 to 48 hours. We're hoping for a successful performance. Instead of competing with the other teams, we want to win the competition.”

The formal flag-off for the RFC 2022 Grand Final will take place on November 30 once the vehicles participating in it have undergone examination and technical inspection. November 30 and December 1 are the dates for the Prologue Special Stages (SS). From December 2 through December 4, the Predator SS will be held, and from December 5 through December 7, the Twilight Zone of RFC 2022 Grand Final and the Terminator SS will be held. On December 8, the competition's winner will be declared.

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