In what could be the largest get together of Thar enthusiasts in Goa, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. (M&M), India’s leading SUV manufacturer, concluded the first ever Thar Fest on August 5th and 6th. Adding flavour to the Thar Fest was the second edition of the Mahindra Adventure ‘Club Challenge’ where the top 10 off-roading clubs from across the country, competed for off-road supremacy. The Thar Fest aimed at celebrating the camaraderie between the off-roading community and 4 X 4 enthusiasts, while also celebrating this iconic brand, which has become a cult following. It saw India’s first Off-Road carnival with the largest congregation of Mahindra Thar owners from across India coming together in Miramar, Goa. Some highlights of the Thar Fest included the Thar Parade and various Thar Off-Road Challenges, notable among which were, the ‘Strong Thar Contest’ and ‘Deep Trench Challenge’. Other awards like ‘Best Modified Thar’ and ‘Participant from furthest location’ was also given.
The most exciting part of the Thar Fest was that the participants also got a chance to cheer for their favourite off-road club which battled it out in the ‘Club Challenge’. Participants from 10 off-road clubs from across India fought a ferocious battle at the ‘Club Challenge’. However, here the obstacles focused more on teamwork rather than on individual performances.
Each off-roading team had three vehicle entries in the Stock, Modified and Pro- Modified category. Some of the obstacles at the Club Challenge were the exciting night stage called Pass the Baton, a team event where all three Thars had to synchronize to pull a bundle of logs tied together with chains through rutted trenches and slush-pit and go uphill while negotiating sharp corners. This obstacle was won by Gerrari Off-Roaders. Trench Trouble was the second obstacle which was highly technical in terms of team involvement in dismantling all four wheels and putting the vehicle on stands. It involved carrying the tyre to the top of the trench in four different directions with the second team collecting it and putting it back on the vehicle and recovering themselves from the trench. This was also won by Gerrari Off-Roaders.
The third obstacle was Goalll!!!, won by BODA, where the competitors were put in a slushy field with a ball with the aim to play football with his Thar and score a goal using the vehicle tyres and bumpers in the minimum time. The fourth obstacle was Trench Trouble 2 won by V5 Coorg Off-Roaders, this obstacle was technical, designed to involve the modified vehicles of the team to pick up flags which were strategically positioned in the obstacle along with cones so that it becomes as difficult as possible to negotiate the obstacle and also collect the flags and gain points. The last and most interesting obstacle was the Bus Stop, which was jointly won by V5 Coorg Off-Roaders & Gerrari Off- Roaders. In this obstacle the teams had to work together with props like ladders and spare tyres to negotiate a laid vehicle carnage which included climbing over a bus, water tanker and other vehicle debris.
After an arduous battle over two days and 5 obstacles, the defending champions BODA (Bangalore Off-Road Development Authority) passed the Overall winner trophy to V5 Off-Roaders from Coorg. They were closely followed by Gerrari Off-Roaders Chandigarh while the 2nd runner up title was won by Team Flywheel from Kerala.
