THIRUVANANTHAPURAM : Offroading, in this part of the country, is mostly associated with the hilly terrain of Western Ghats. Sure, the mountains offer much scope for some adrenaline rush, but these locations are far removed from the cities. Keeping this on their mind, a group of petrolheads brings the sport closer to Kochi in an event named Mad Man’s Fury. Known as 4x4 Beats, the Muvattupuzha-based collective will showcase a friendly competition that is expected to have over 30 participants. The event will be held on May 1 at Adooparambu, Muvattupuzha.
“Ours is a 100-member strong team and we’ve have been helping other clubs around the state lay tracks for competitions. So, we thought of putting together our own event, in a place accessible to people from places like Kochi and Kottayam,” says Prajeesh MR, the president of the collective.
Into the sludge
Regulars at similar events, 4x4 Beats has something different to offer at their day-long spectacle. “Most organisers focus on making the track unnecessarily tough to navigate. But, most participants do this for a hobby and we don’t want to cause grave damage to vehicles due to bad track design.
Our intention is to reduce accidents while still offering a challenge,” says Prajeesh, informing that their course has been laid out over a month by Vishnu Raj—who has participated in rallies like Rainforest Challenge India—with the help of Mohammed Sheffin, another familiar name in the circuit. 4x4 diesel and petrol vehicles will take on two different stages on the trail, while a third that involves slush has been taken out because of early summer rains.
Although, the organisers assure that there are hardly any chances for cars toppling, they’ve arranged for recovery vehicles including backhoe loaders and mobile cranes. A team will also ensure that every participating vehicle sticks to safety regulations. Promising prizes worth `1, 50,000, the competition will have ‘Best in Level’ winners too.