Harket: The plan for this one was to go wide, align the Thar to the gap between the mud pit and the pond, and power through. In his excitement, though, Ryan jumped straight to powering through, and we couldn’t go any further. The mud spray was fun, though, and I almost got a face full.
Ryan: The final challenge was the “Direct Injection Special”. It got its name because of the vehicle we all had to use – a Mahindra 550, which was once the Indian Army’s pride. For this challenge we had to follow a path which was riddled with obstacles, which included water pits, deep ruts, wooden logs and a sharp left-hand turn to the finish. This time around Harket was with me in the car. Call it fate or bad luck, going I took off on a wrong path and realised I could see the finish right there. So in backed all the way down and rectified our course. Despite the detour we finished within the time limit with ease.
Harket: Going last again put us at a distinct disadvantage, as the tape marking off the course had been obliterated by one of the other teams, resulting in us losing precious seconds as we veered off course. The 550, however, is an impressive beast, and Ryan took to it like a duck to water.
This was our first experience of proper off-roading, and we were completely blown away by how adrenaline-pumping, blood-thumping and all-round exciting the experience was. If you’re a petrol-head who likes to hit the dirt, then the Mahindra Adventure Academy has to be on your to-do list.
