Four Wheel Drive Club of Sri Lanka

Sri Lankan duo braves world’s toughest

   
Sri Lanka’s best and most experienced off-road team Indika Sanjaya (Driver) and Navin Marapana (Co-Driver) took the off-road world by storm by becoming the champions in the 2000-3000 cc Diesel Category and the Electric Winch Category in the Malaysian Rainforest Challenge 2009 (RFC).
They also proved that they were a truly world class team by beating over 20 petrol vehicles and becoming second runner up in the Open category.

The RFC is considered one of the toughest off road challenges in the world and dubbed the Formula One in the off-road fraternity. 

It is held annually in the rainforests of Malaysia over a period of ten gruelling days where man and machine are put to test in the harshest and challenging conditions.

This year’s RFC had over forty vehicles taking part with the best competitors from the Philippines, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, USA, Thailand, Russia, New Zealand, Australia, Malaysia, Austria, Denmark and Singapore vying for supremacy along with participants from France, UK, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, India, Vietnam and Germany.

Sri Lanka had two other teams taking part comprising Suresh Chathuranga (Driver), his Co-Driver Ravindra Sanjeewa and Ravindra Rathnasiri along with his co Driver Harsha Kumara.

 RFC Continues...

The jungle stages before the twilight zone was split into two days with 6 SS each. The first day was tough with 3 SS where climbing grunt was essential, SS 14 again tested the technical skills of the team. While we went into the twilight zone wondering how to compete in Malaysia against Malaysian competitors the the event was taking a turn, where brains were more in play than brawns, where it seemed like the organizers had the previous predator stage to shake out the weak vehicles. SS 14 where you had to turn tight corners in the River bed did not favour any of the super modified with rear brakes and supra engines, leveling the playing field. The organizers have set up the stages so tight that once again the 4x4 game came down its roots, where strategy was the key. Indika and Naveen seemed very calm in the SS’s completing them with ease, while Ranga, and Allawa, also completing the SS.

Day two had a surprise for all, going back to basics, where the SS were set for the Drivers & Co-Driver and did not matter what vehicle that one ran. The SS consisted of changing tires without a Jack, Winching with a high lift jack and winching with a strap. These excercises were taking the toll on the teams where this years RFC thus far there was no rain and the sun was roasting everyone. This was a fresh look at SS and opened up the game for everyone whether you got a buggy or not.

RFC 2009...Continues 

The Lankan team had a fair pro log with Indika & Naveen finishing 2^nd overall out of 6 special stages. Moving on to the predator stage and the first taste of the Malaysian jungle, the Ulu Sedili National Park, where the camp was set by a the stony river sedili.

Six stages were set to shake out the weak vehilcles, these Stages were vehicle wrekers. SS 7 was a speed run along the rocky river bed, and SS8 a loop through 3 muddy holes that sank the vehicles up to the bonnet, SS9 a dive down to the river and a up hill climb, SS10 & 11 with vertical walls to climb and SS12 with a absolute wrecker where 10  speed rounds around a set jungle track.