TPC2009

For photographs CLICK HERE

EVENT REPORT

At the outset let me address all the off-roaders who made it for TPC 09 you guys are the BEST.

The standard of this years participants has encouraged us to take the event to the next level in 2010.

Those who missed it, you guys have another year to get prepared

All the last minute entries who were turned down, please make your reservation within time, you had 4 months.

For the vehicles that did not pass scrutiny – sorry but it was for your own safety and the well-being of the vehicle. We are sure you understand why, now that you have seen the event.

Some of the participants did not take the warnings on the website seriously and had to pay a very expensive price to learn that instructions are meant to be followed.

TPC 09 started with a casual run of the Clay pits on the 13^th afternoon, for introduction and then followed by the First-Aid training capsule that we organized for participants on 14^th evening. A team from the Chennai chapter of the Rashtriya Life Saving Society (RLSS) took the participants through some emergency medical situations likely to be encountered on an event like this, such as heat-stroke, dehydration, eye injuries, fractures, bleeding, etc.

For the first time we had a foreign team from Sri Lanka – Sean Hameed & Darshan Maralanda in a MG413W, it was a real treat to watch them tackle the obstacles and their team-work. They set a very high standard for all other teams to move up to.

Sean Hameed participated in RFC08 and stood sixth in his category, and overall eleventh.

We look forward to more participants from Sri Lanka in the years to come.

Keeping with Adventure Zone’s eco-friendly motto, there were penalties for littering. All participants had to bring back the litter from their lunch hampers at the end of each day and were docked 3 points for each item missing.

The Adventure Zone campsite was brilliant, in terms of logistics, comfort and cost. We are happy to say that participants got comfortable air-conditioned tents, deluxe toilets and excellent food on all days. The packed lunches were adequate and tasty, and participants were provided with 5-lit water cans, plus tetra-packs of fruit juices etc. in individual ice-boxes.

These were the teams:

Team 1 – Vikram R (MG413W), Dr, Jones (PROWLER), Rajamohan A. (MM540)

Team 2 – Sanjay David (MM540), Vinod Nookala (MM540DP), Patrick V. (CJ3B)

Team 4 – Manzoor (MM540), Jose (MM540DP), Ranjith Kuttan (M&M CLASSIC)

Team 6 – ATV (Automatics) – Sundar (Polaris Scrambler 500 4x4), Sridhar (Polaris 700 4x4), Raja (Polaris Trial Boss 300 4x2)

Team 7 – ATV (Manuals) Manoj (Beast 250cc 4x2), Jay (Beast 250cc 4x2), Sasu (Beast 250cc 4x2)

The check points and special stages were manned by

Arcadeep Datta and Md. Ali (Nissan 4W73),

Raghav Ignite & Bala (CJ3B)

We left the campsite at 6:00 am, after an early breakfast.

The participants were split into two groups for a staggered start, to avoid cluttering up on the riverbed.

At the Start Line the teams were flagged off towards the Special Stages (SS). Each SS was marked by a flag, and manned by the organizers. The participants had to find their own way across the terrain and execute their own recovery. It was a blistering hot day with temperatures nudging 40 C and humidity close to 85%. However, all the vehicles and participants held out very well. The large supply of juices and ORS came in very handy.

Here are the various SS:  

·        SS 1– 3 Climbs with Slush Exit (Rajkumar Jaykumar & Ravi CJ3B)

·        SS 2 – River Crossing (Mahendran MM540DP)

·        SS 3 – Rapid 3 Climbs (Zeal Siva CJ3B)

·        SS 4 - Table Top + Linear Dune + Pit. (Venkat MM540DP)

·        SS 5 – V-Pit –W-Pit –Sand Pit Climb & Loop + Sand Trough Exit (Arka MM540XD)

·        SS 6 –  4 Climbs with rutted run (Arcadeep Datta and Md. Ali Nissan 4W73)

·        SS 7 – 5 point Hill (Raghav Ignite & Bala CJ3B)

·        SS 8 – "Palm" spurs & re-entrants (Manoj Shah MM540DP)

Team 5- started with a handicap of one less participant which was evident in one recovery situation, but otherwise they were brilliant

At the end of day#1 Team 3 – got their Isuzu trooper truly stuck, and had to manage with 2 vehicles.

On return to the campsite a movie on “The Rain Forest Challenge” was screened.

Day02 added some cheer to the participants as the weather was cloudy and it turned out to be a very pleasant day.

We reached the riverbed by 07:45hrs.

Here are the various SS:  

·        SS 1– Water Hole + Table Top Rajkumar Jaykumar & Ravi CJ3B)

·        SS 2 –Sand Dune + Steep Ascent + Pit Ascent + Linear Sand Dune. (Venkat MM540DP)

·        SS 3 – Climb & Loop, Table Top Saddle & Water Pit exit (Arka MM540XD)

·        SS 4 – 2 Climbs Loop (Zeal Siva CJ3B)

·        SS 5 – Triple Mud Pit & Sand Climb (Arcadeep Datta and Md. Ali Nissan 4W73)

·        SS 6 – 5 Fingers (Manoj Shah MM540DP)      

·        SS 7 –  Jeeper’s  Ravine (Raghav Ignite & Bala CJ3B)

·        SS 8 – Tyre Changing without a Jack or a Lifting Device

·        SS 9 – Timed Vehicle Recovery

·        Individual Special Stage (Best Individual Timing) – 3 Climbs on a Timed Run

We reached the campsite at 19:30 hrs. After tea and freshening-up, we assembled on the lawn for the quiz. Participants were quizzed on technical aspects of the jeep plus on first-aid procedures.

Then came the grand moment, when the prizes were announced.

Winner, Palar Challenge ‘09 (Sponsored by McRennett Foods) : Team 2 Sanjay David (MM540), Vinod Nookala (MM540DP), Patrick V. (CJ3B)

Runners-up – Team 1 – Vikram R MG413W, Dr, Jones (PROWLER), Rajamohan A. (MM540)

 Most Performing 4WD(Prize sponsored by MAXXIS Tyres 5 M8080 ‘Mudzilla’ 31-11.50-R15 & IGNITE for the Trophies)The First – Sean Hameed (MG413W)

The Second – Baskar Keshavalu (MM540DP)

The Third – Vikram R. (MG413W)

Winner, Technical Event (IGNITE sponsored the Trophies)
(Tyre Changing without Jack or Lifting Device & Vehicle Recovery) – Team 1 – Vikram R MG413W, Dr, Jones (PROWLER), Rajamohan A. (MM540)

Spirit of Palar (Most Sporting Team) – Team 3  – Vijayanand (JONGA), Dr. Rajkumar (CJ5) Babu (Isuzu Trooper)

First – Ranjith Kuttan (M&M CLASSIC) 1:17 minutes

Tied Second & Third – Mhd.Ali (MM540XD) & Vikram R (MG413W)1:24 minutes

TPC goes to the RFC - http://www.rainforest-challenge.com/index.php?page=193