Namshum triumphant on RFC debut; Chetan gets fourth co-driver title; Duo off to finale

Following a week-long, intense competition where 77 teams from 11 states were fighting in Goa for The Rainforest Challenge (RFC) India 2025 Champions' title across three categories, Chow Ujjal Namshum from Arunachal Pradesh and co-driver Chethan Chengappa from Karnataka have won the 11th edition of The Rainforest Challenge (RFC) India in the '4x4 Extreme' category.

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They secured 2,302 points out of 2,600 after completing the 26 Special Stages (SS) of the competition, earning 100 points in 12 SS and finishing fastest in 14. This marks Ujjal's first RFC India win and Chethan's fourth as a co-driver. As the top Indian driver of the '4x4 Extreme' category, Ujjal has won a free automatic entry to the Rainforest Challenge Global Grand Finale to be held in Malaysia later this year.

Cedrick Jordan Da Silva (co-driver Mackwin Dias) finished as the first runners-up in the '4x4 Extreme' category with 1,999 points while Rambabu Mareedu (Kumaraswamy Thalam) from Telangana secured third place with 1,957 points.

JUST BORN:

In the newly introduced '4x4 Modified' category of RFC India 2025, Goan driver Steven Fernandes (Balwant Jagram) emerged as the Overall Champion with 1,622 points out of 2,000. Cyril D'mello (Ameer Sadiq) from Maharashtra secured second place with 1,605 points while Manoj Biradar (Sachin Gadashetti) from Karnataka finished third with 1,539 points.

DEBUT WIN:

Mihir Dharkar (Shantanu Grover) of Maharashtra was declared the winner of the '4x4 Stock' category, also introduced for the first time in RFC India. He secured 1,303 points out of 1,400, with 100 points in 6 of the 14 SS and 95 points in 3 SS. Bopaiah Kongettira (Bopanna Maleyanda) from Karnataka finished second with 1,215 points, while Prathan Chittiyappa (Anush Byramudi), also from Karnataka, secured third with 1,046 points. Interestingly, all three top teams in the '4x4 Stock' category were driving Maruti Suzuki vehicles—two Jimnys and one Gypsy.