After a grueling week in the forests of Goa, despite all odds, Dr. Mohammed Fahed VP and co-driver Rajeev Lal from Kerala won the Rainforest Challenge (RFC) India 2024, marking their victory with 2165 points out of 2600. The competition, known for its extreme off-road challenges, featured 26 Special Stages (SS) testing participants’ driving skills, teamwork, and vehicle endurance.
Ujjal Namshum from Arunachal Pradesh, with co-driver Chethan Chengappa from Karnataka, secured second place with 2039 points. Kerala’s Anand V Manjooran and Vishnu Raj clinched third with 1874 points. Completing the top five were Hyderabad’s N Abinav Reddy (Vishuthi Varun Chakravarthy) with 1802 points and Goa’s Cedrick Jordan Da Silva (Mackvin Dias) with 1781 points.
Launched by Cougar Motorsport in 2014, RFC India is the Indian chapter of Malaysia’s Rainforest Challenge, one of the world’s top five most challenging off-road races. Held annually in Goa with the backing of Goa Tourism, RFC India is the longest-running international off-road motorsport event in the country. This year’s 10th edition saw participation from 26 elite teams. The top three teams earned entry to the RFC Global Series 2024 Finale in Malaysia.
Dr. Fahed, a pediatrician at an Ayurvedic hospital, expressed his joy and said that winning RFC India is a dream come true. After three years of struggle, they finally found success in their fourth attempt in which they had decided to go all out, and with the support of their family and crew, they succeeded.
Special awards included the ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ to Cedrick Jordan Da Silva, ‘Rookie of the Year’ to Digvijay Sinh Parmar and Subhash Utekar, and ‘The David Metcalfe Jungleman Award’ to Rajeev Lal. Other honors went to Team Mars, NC Garage, and Team Steel Heads.
