Bengaluru: India’s toughest international off-road motorsport competition – the Rainforest Challenge (RFC), India – is back for its 5th season, to be held in Goa from July 21 to 28. This year, Shruti Ranjan Pai and co-driver Sara Fanning, from Bengaluru, have formed a team named ‘Simply Sage’, to compete in this 8-day long mud fest as the solo Ladies’ Team of the competition. If these brave women manage to complete all the tasks of RFC India 2018, they will go down in history as the first ever Ladies’ Team to accomplish this feat. Previously, one Ladies Team participated in the inaugural edition of RFC India in 2014 but had to pull out of the competition after two days due to a technical fault in their vehicle.
RFC Malaysia is counted among the top ten toughest motor races in the world. The India Edition of RFC was launched in 2014by Delhi-based Cougar Motorsport Pvt. Ltd. Today, RFC India is counted amongst the top three RFC Global events out of the 51 editions being held across 21 countries, and enjoys a cult following in the Indian and international offroading community. RFC India is an extreme off-road motorsport competition that tests the contestants’ driving and vehicle recovery skills, team spirit, along with their physical and mental strength under extreme off-road conditions.
41 teams, each comprising a driver and a co-driver, from various parts of the country will participate in RFC India 2018 where they will undertake 26 Special Stages (SS) or challenges. The event follows a point system, wherein the team with maximum points at the end of all the SS claims the title of RFC India. The total benefits to the top Indian driver of RFC India 2018 will amount to USD 10,000, including an automatic free entry worth USD 3,900 to the RFC Mother Event, to be held in Malaysia at the end of the year.
38-year old Shruti, who is a Director at the renowned Manipal Education and Medical Group, has always loved to live life off-the-edge. In the past, she has actively participated in various hardcore adventure activities abroad. Shruti explains, “While I was living in Australia, I developed an affinity for all kinds of outdoor and adventure activities; Australia is known to bring the thrill-seeker out in you, and of all these activities, high-speed driving was what always got my adrenaline pumping! However, after getting married and joining the family business, I got busy with work and driving (quite literally) took a backseat.”
She adds, “Over the last couple of years, I have been hearing a lot about RFC India from my friends as well as colleagues, since Manipal Hospital has been a Medical Partner of the competition in the past. I was fascinated with the concept and started researching it. Based on the initial information I gathered, I knew it was not an easy challenge to complete, but what surprised me the most was the lack of female participants in the competition. I reached out to the organizers, and even they were unaware of the reason for this dearth of women teams’ participation in what is supposed to be India’s best off-road motorsport competition. So, this year, I decided to compete in the event as it has always been a dream of mine to compete in off-road challenges.”
Speaking about her preparations for the upcoming event Shruti elaborates, “While I have experience in high-speed driving, off-roading is a totally different ball game that requires technique and patience rather than speed. This will be my first ever off-road competition. Ideally, I should have participated in a few regional competitions to gain experience before registering for RFC India. However, I am willing to work hard and learn as much as I can about the technical aspects of off-roading before the event commenced in July. I have had a few training sessions so far, but work commitments have not permitted me to devote as much time to the practice as I would like. I have now decided to take some time off work and spend the next one month on rigorous training.”
She further adds, “The vehicle that I’ll be driving in RFC India is a custom-mod Maruti Gypsy. It has previously participated in RFC India, representing the off-road club Bangalore Offroaders Development Association (BODA), and has fared quite well in the competition. I’m also receiving a lot of help and guidance from some RFC India veterans from BODA. Their tips have been highly instrumental in moulding my performance and temperament and I’m sure their guidance will prove to be invaluable during the competition.”
About her co-driver, Shruti says, “Sara has been working in India for over a decade. We have known each other for more than 5 years and have bonded well due to our shared love for adventure sports. As far as offroading is concerned, we perfectly complement each other – I am quite daring and love to take risks, while Sara believes in treading with caution. Given the kind of connection and understanding we share, we’re both able to comprehend and trust each other. Co-driving in RFC India requires a person to be physically tough and agile. While we may not be as tough as our male counterparts, our agility gives us an upper edge. Together, we’ll leave no stone unturned to ensure that we perform to the best of our capabilities. We are not aiming for a podium finish; our goal is to successfully finish all the tasks and stay in the competition till the end.” Hailing from the UK, Sara Fanning is currently working as the Head of Design and Curationat AJIO.
Of late, motorsport in India is seeing active participation from women. Yet, the numbers are stillfar from being satisfactory. Shruti explains, “I feel we don’t see too many women coming out in competitive motorsport either because of the social structure they are a part of, and being overprotected, or due to a lack of family support. Both Sara and I have families who support us in this endeavor, and I hope that our participation encourages more women to come forward and get involved in motorsport events, particularly off-road motorsport where even the overall contribution of women is scarce.”
Elaboratingon the kind of backing she has from her family, Shruti laughingly recalls, “The first time my husband sat in the vehicle with me during one of the practice sessions, he rolled his eyes as if to say, “Are you serious?” After all, I am 5’4” tall and weigh merely 47kgs, while the vehicle I was driving was a beast! But he has been extremely supportive and told me that if I want to do it, I should put in my 100% and do it well! I’ve got two daughters, a 10 and 7 year old, and they are thrilled about the upcoming competition and want to be there with me. So, for the first few days of the competition, my husband is going to take care of things at home and for the last two days, my kids will be joining me in Goa while my husband goes to Malaysia for work.It’s because of the immense support of my husband, family and friends that I feel motivated to do well.”
With the main-event coming closer each passing day, Shruti believes that staying calm is the best way to survive. Elaborating on their strategy for the competition, she says, “The strategy would be to first walk through each obstacle, then examine and digest it with Sara. This will allow us to devise a plan for steering through it successfully, one obstacle at a time. Being a debutant in competitive motorsport, I understand it is not going to be easy, but I dobelieve that success comes to those who dare to dream and work hard for it.”
