The Rainforest Challenge (RFC) India is an off-road motorsport event, organised annually in Goa by Cougar Motorsport as part of the international RFC Global Series, founded in Malaysia in 1997. Held during the monsoon, it pits driver – co-driver teams against a series of Special Stages (SS), where punishing terrain, deep mud, water crossings, and vehicle recovery challenges are each scored out of 100 points. The event runs across three categories: the flagship ‘4×4 Extreme’, ‘4×4 Modified’, and ‘4×4 Stock’ for near-factory-spec vehicles.
The 12th edition ran across Goa from 26 July to 1 August. A total of 62 teams competed – 25 in Extreme, 16 in Modified, and 21 in Stock – through what organisers called one of the most demanding editions in recent years.
In the 4X4 Extreme category, day one set a brutal tone; heavy rain and technical terrain meant SS1 alone produced 20 DNFs, mostly from winch failures, while SS2 threw in deep water-wading sections that submerged vehicles to roof height. Kranthi Kumar Vengala and co-driver Rajeev Lal PM (Team Hyderabad) led from the start with 355 points out of 400 after Day 1, extending their advantage through day two, despite losing and recovering a tyre mid-stage. By day three, their total score was 1,204 points out of 1,400. Ujjal Namshum and Chethan Chengappa (Team MOCA, Arunachal Pradesh) chased throughout, overcoming a toppled vehicle, a broken axle and an unwell co-driver, before surging into the lead on day four with 1,637 points out of 1,900 and holding it to the finish for their second consecutive title. The victory gave Namshum an automatic entry to the RFC Global Series Finale in Malaysia. Kranthi Kumar Vengala and Rajeev Lal PM finished runners-up with a total of 2,052 points. Viddesh Madgaonkar and Sahil Sadekar completed the podium with a total of 1,962 points.
The 4X4 Modified category, competing on the same ground as Extreme but without the winching points, was more of a pure driving test – one that caught several teams out in the water-wading sections. Sarjerao Kawade and Rushikesh Patil (Sahyadri Offroaders, Pune) led from day one with 363 points out of 400. After a heated battle with Suraksha BS and Sanoj S, they both tied for the lead with 652 points out of 800 apiece, then pulled clear by day four with 1,137 points out of 1,300 despite a breakdown and a 30-point penalty along the way. Sarjerao Kawade and Rushikesh Patil were champions with a total of 1,633 points out of 2,000, followed by Shehinsha TP and Muhammed Nabeel, who had briefly slipped outside the top three but recovered to finish runner-up with 1,572 points. Karumbaiah and Bopanna Maleyanda took third with 1,569 points.
For the 4X4 Stock category, the closing stages were dominated by technical rock-climbing sections. Sabu Xavier and Halvin Appanna (Jeepers of Bangalore) led early with 348 points out of 400, before Naku Hage Chada and Loda Punyo (Team X-treme Arunachal) took over by day four with 704 points out of 800, dropping Xavier to third. Athul Thomas and Binil Babu (Team Killerbull, Kerala) finished first with a total of 1,247 points out of 1,400 – a win Thomas said “almost didn’t happen” as he’d only entered after a planned event in Coimbatore was cancelled. Naku Hage Chada and Loda Punyo finished runner-up with a total of 1,173 points, and Sabu Xavier with Halvin Appanna took third with a total of 1,144 points.
