Of wheel-power & will-power

BASIL SYLVESTER PINTO

A sport not for the faint-hearted. A challenge which helps you overcome your fears. That is what the Mahindra Great Escape, one of India’s most popular off-roading adventures is all about. In its 149th edition, the two-day event concluded in Quepem in South Goa last weekend, and drew a highly competitive participation from the Mahindra stable maneuvering the challenging route. 

Dattaraj Lawande, who was a joint winner in the Stock category developed interest in the sport as young as 12, when he used to accompany his dad at off-road tracks Mahindra used to organize. “I began competing somewhere in 2011-12 at the Autocross Competition organized by Kings Goa Racing Club in Campal, Panaji,” the 33-year-old said. Hitting the hard gravel in his debut competition brought him instant success. Participating in his Maruti Gypsy, he claimed the first place in the 1000-1300 cc category, while he stood third in the Open Class. Ever since, there has been no looking back for Lawande, and once he gets off-road he races like a pro. “You learn to be physically fit, focused and overcome anxiety. Once you are off-road, you get well-connected to your car; learn to react to obstacles to get your points. It is a sport which gives you an opportunity to challenge your limits and know your capacity,” the Panaji based off-roader revealed. 

On his recent off-road experience at the Mahindra Great Escape Goa, Lawande prided himself as the only driver to successfully complete the fourth and final stage on the second and final day. “It was a high climb in the end with a super flag placed at the top which only I managed to complete. I had to get down the riverbed from a slope and pick up two other flags en route before picking the final super flag on the steep climb,” Lawande proudly stated. 

Kapil Bhobe, his practice partner and good friend shared the honours in the Stock Category at the last weekend in Goa. Bhobe started riding off-road as a hobby over normal trails in Valpoi, but with time the passion took a new twist that got him into competition mode. “One day along with my driver, I had gone to Pargad in Dodamarg in my Mahindra CJ 340. I drove the jeep all the way to the top of the hill of the fort. Later I came to know from the villagers, it was the only vehicle after the Portuguese rule to make the climb. They welcomed me openly, and stated that if a jeep can come, the Government can make a road there,” the businessman narrated. Drawing inspiration from the endeavor, Bhobe took to his first off-road competition at the Mahindra Great Escape Goa in 2013 winning the third place in the Stock Category. Ever since, at the State level he has always come first in the Category. 

Only recently, along with other like-minded and prize-winning off-roaders from Goa, he registered a group called the Western Indian Offroad Club (WIOC). Their group won four of the five prizes on offer at the recently concluded Mahindra Great Escape Goa. 

Bhobe further stated that last year at Pune he took it as a challenge to drive in his Maruti Gypsy in competition with more technically advanced 4x4s. “It does not depend on your jeep but on the driver. I took my Maruti Gypsy last year to Pune which was a 1988 model, yet I came first over other modified, highly equipped vehicles costing 15-20 lakhs,”

For his better half, Maithili, off-roading happened as her husband supported her against the odds. “My husband used to go off-roading with his friends at a time when we did not have a jeep. Once we bought our first jeep, I did not go with others but I went with my husband. I was bored to sit by his side and that was when he gave me a chance to get behind the wheel and since then I could not stop,” Maithili divulged. She went to Sakleshpur for the Mahindra event in 2013 to see her husband participate, but fate willed her otherwise. “The organizers and judges told my husband you are already selected for the final, and that is how I took my chance in lieu of him and participated in the Ladies Category,” she stated. 

Her baptism as an off-roader was a learning curve. Though she did well to complete all the four tracks, one of which she could not finish within the stipulated time. The reverse was what set her back in the competition. To overcome her shortcoming, on her return to Goa, on weekends she practiced reverse to better her performances in ensuing events. 

And soon she began to carve a niche for herself and till date has won six trophies. She now aims to better her first runner-up placing at the last Mahindra Great Escape finals. 

Bhobe desires to see more women take to off-roading. “I tell all women there is no such thing being a man or woman in the sport, all are equal.” she concluded. 

For Curchorem-based, Earl Braganza who was the winner in the Modified Category, the ambience he grew up in gave him the early feel of off-roading. And while in his early twenties in 1996, he took part in the Great Escape which incidentally was Mahindra’s first year. While more often than not he either finishes first or second, he has realized that the Mahindra off-roading competition improves each year. “Every year it improves, and the stages are very difficult. It gets mucky, involves climbs on laterite stones. It is very tricky as you cannot touch buntings or cones. You have to be articulate when you go off-road,” Braganza explained. 

Dr Vani Parmar, began off-roading rather late in life at 50 but is making the most of it. “I have been off-roading for the last four years more for fun,” the Mumbaiite admitted. 

“Keeping your head cool and calm in any kind of adversities is something that the sport definitely trains you in. To be a surgeon, you have to be always able to handle extreme cases. Here, it is a different terrain, a different perspective, a different instrument. It is not only the hands, but the mind, body and the machine,” the practicing surgeon articulated. Parmar envisions a dream to form and be a part of a first-ever women’s team to participate in a Club Challenge, while she continues to strive to better herself as an off-roader.