MOCA wins 'JK Tyre Orange 4x4 Fury' title

Dambuk: The Manabhum Off-Roaders Club of Arunachal (MOCA) displayed strategic acumen and nerves of steel to claim the 'JK Tyre Orange 4x4 Fury' title here on December 18.

Going into the fourth and final day, the local favourites (MOCA), who were just five points away from winning – defeated their strongest opponent 'Gerrari Off-Roaders' and claimed their biggest victory on the national stage.

The MOCA team, led by drivers Aditya Mei and Chow Ujjal Namshum, along with the guides and co-drivers Chow Sujeewan Choutang and Chow Ingieng Mein, went all out in the camp to the 'River Stage' to collect 100 points.

Their opponents, the 'Gerrari Off-Roaders', finished third for 90 points but suffered a big blow when they were penalised 30 points for breaking a bunting. The team from Chandigarh, powered by Gurmeet Singh (with Gurpratap Sandhu as navigator) and Kabir Waraich (with Yuvraj Singh Tiwana), gave their best shot but just one mistake proved to be their undoing.

They won the final Dambuk River stage to collect 100 points but the battle had already been lost. They, however, had the consolation of winning the first runners-up trophy and Rs 1.5 lakh. The deserving champions picked up the glittering winners' trophy as well Rs 2.5 lakh for their efforts, while the second runners-up team from Bangalore, 'BODA', got richer by Rs 1 lakh.

Talking about the team's journey in this competition, driver of the winning team, Aditya Mei said, "We stuck to our overall strategy of avoiding penalty points at any cost. We worked well as a team which was perhaps easy because we are all from the same family."

Chow Ujjal Namshum revealed that they were tense on the eve of the final run but quite confident of doing something special. "Once we picked up a handy lead after the day's first stage, we knew we had to do," he said.