Dambuk Valley, Arunachal Pradesh:The fourth edition of the JK Tyre Orange 4x4 Fury off-roading event gets under way here on Friday with as many as 22 drivers along with their co-drivers representing 11 teams from different parts of the country in fray.
Hosted in the breathtaking Lower Dirang Valley’s quaint village Dambuk, it is part of the highly popular Orange Festival of Adventure and Music that draws fans from various cities.
OFAM 2017 is being held over four days, from December 15 to 18, and will see the competitors pitting themselves and their machines against Mother Nature in the semi tropical rain forests of Arunachal.
MOCCA (Arunachal Pradesh), Gerrari Offroaders (Chandigarh) and KTM Jeepers (Kerala) are expected to fight it out for the title, given their experience and expertise in this form of motor-sport.
The Gerrari Offroaders are the hot favourites, having won the first edition of the 4X4 Fury in 2015. KabirWaraich, winner of the latest Ultimate Desert Challenge, and Gurmeet Virdi, overall winner in the Force Gurkha RFC India 2017, make a formidable pair.
The local team, MOCCA, led by Tseng Tsing Mein, Sunima Mein, Meoseng Namshoom, will also hope to do better than their third-place finish last year.
“They have been working on their vehicles and their skills all through the year and have emerged as a force to reckon with,” Sanjay Sharma, Head of JK Motorsports said.
The KTM JEEPERS from Kottayam, with veteran off-roader Sam Kurien at the helm, will also be watched carefully. His team arrived for the competition after a ‘crazy’ 4,000 km ride.
An interesting set of stages — ‘Show man’, ‘Bizari by the Swamp’, ‘Dance of the Sisari’, ‘Dibang Fury’, ‘Horn OfZaktum’, ‘Dambuk Fury’ and ‘Orange Fury’ — has been laid out for the teams. As a package, they will test the teams’ driving skills and nerves across land, water and hills.
Apart from the adrenaline pumping adventure sports, there is a spectacular feast for music lovers too.
“This year we have lined up an array of extraordinary bands from across the country as well as abroad. This includes the 7-time Grammy nominated German electronic band Tangerine Dream. Alternative Rock fans will also have a special treat, with the inclusion of Five Eight,” Lhakpa Tsering president of Motor Sports Club of Arunachal said.
Also on offer will be a dare-devil stunt performance by Gourav Khatri, the country's best freestyle show jumper on two wheels.
The more adventurous fans can indulge in adventure sports like river rafting, dirt biking, ATV rides in the forest and zip-lining too. Local tribal sports like archery and darts, angling and fishing or cycling around the beautiful and serene valley will also be on the menu, just like orange plucking and other forest food.
The headliner of OFAM 2017 will be Richie Kotzen, who played in legendary bands like Poison, Mr. Big and Winery Dogs in a prolific solo career. For the first time ever in India, this acclaimed guitarist-singer-songwriter will take the stage and croon his iconic tunes.
TEAMS:
1. KTM Jeepers (Kottayam Kerela)
2. Renegade Jeepers
3. Association of Offroaders (Nagaland)
4. MOCCA (Arunachal Pradesh)
5. Kerala Adventure Sports Club
6. GerrariOffroaders (Chandigarh)
7. Kanaur Riders and Offroaders Club (Kerala)
8. Kerala Riders N Off-roading Club)
9. Kerala Adventure and Sports Club
10. Renegade Riders
11. Association Off-roaders of Nagaland
About JK Tyre Motorsport:
JK Tyre has always been closely associated with the world of sports. Almost three decades back the company laid down a long term and sustained approach to promote Motorsport. Participating in this form of the sport has helped the company in continuously updating its products to meet the challenges of gruelling Indian conditions. The sport at that time in India was perceived for elite but JK Tyre took upon itself to package and redesign the sport to suit the masses. The company not only made the sport affordable but also equivalent to International operating standards. JK Tyre’s foray into Motorsport was a well thought out strategic decision to not only use and develop this virgin branding platform but also to realize the dreams of making India a force in the field of motor sport.
In 2011, the company acquired the Formula BMW Series and rechristened it as the JK Racing Asia Series (JKRAS). With this acquisition, JK Tyre created history in Indian Motorsport by becoming the first Indian company to acquire an FIA accredited series. By taking over the series, JK Tyre promises to utilize it as a platform to encourage and support the world’s best racing drivers and promote India as one of Asia’s motorsport capitals.
Thus, JK Tyre has conquered two steps in the motorsport program where the new racing aspirants first establish themselves in India, then graduate to Asian level i.e. to Formula BMW, which is now JKRAS and then they move to higher levels of racing. JK Tyre now stands closer to achieving its mission of bringing world-class motorsport to the Indian masses. The Racing and Karting programme by JK Tyre has been the breeding ground for the country’s motorsport talents like NarainKarthikeyan, Armaan Ebrahim, Karun Chandhok, Aditya Patel and other emerging talent.
Another pioneering initiative was the launch of the Truck Racing Championship in India in partnership with Tata Motors. The company developed & designed “JetRacing”-the new generation truck racing tyres especially for this application. With this, JK Tyre became the first tyre company to produce truck racing tyres in India. The combination of the Prima trucks fitted with Jet Racing received an overwhelming response from participants and has definitely brought in a revolution in the Indian racing scenario.
For further information, please contact:
Khushboo Gupta
khushboo.gupta@jkmail.com
Monsum Hazarika
monsumh@gmail.com
Mob: +91 9999648056 / +91 875-071-8944
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