Cougar motorsport, organisers of The Himalayan Dash, The Desert Dash, The Coastal Dash and The Sanctuary Dash, and pioneers of the luxury self-driving experiences segment, are set to host the first India Chapter of The Rainforest Challenge, and hope to attract an international clientele through the event. The event is set to take place from 8-14 August 2014 in Goa, and is expected to draw in off-road enthusiasts from all parts of the world. According to Ashish Gupta, Founder & Director, Cougar Motorsport, the Rainforest Challenge is among the world’s top ten toughest motor races and would be India’s first international off-road motorsport event. The event originated in Malaysia in 1997.
“Currently we only cater to an Indian clientele. However, targeting international driving enthusiasts is definitely on the anvil. We have taken the first step towards reaching out to an international clientele by launching the India Chapter of The Rainforest Challenge,” said Gupta.
The focus has not yet been on international clientele though, as Gupta revealed there are several challenges to hosting them that are yet to be overcome. For instance, since participants are required to bring their own premium cars, arranging vehicles for the international participants poses a major challenge. “We might look into collaborating with companies that can help these participants get premium SUVs on rent. Moreover, enabling them to drive on Indian roads would require us to give them proper training. Communicating with them in their local language to ensure that all the major instructions are clearly understood is another aspect that has to be addressed,” he said.
Speaking about the challenges of organising an event as niche as luxury self-driving experiences in India, Gupta stated that the preparation work for each Dash is very tough and involves numerous field trips for charting out a unique route map, getting the necessary permissions from the concerned authorities, preparing for all kinds of contingencies and having multiple sessions with the hotel staff to ensure that no stone is left unturned to ensure the comfort of each and every guest. The biggest challenge, however, is to ensure the safety of the cars and the participants, especially in a tough terrain like the Himalayas where anything may happen in an instant, he added.
“There are numerous platforms which offer self-driving experiences to people. What was lacking was the ‘luxury’ element in road travel and that is the gap that Cougar Motorsport is bridging. Since a luxury product like ours is meant for a niche segment, which comprises mainly of CEOs and top executives, it was initially difficult to convince them to spend their vacation on road in the company of strangers rather than at an exotic location among loved ones. However, the participants soon realised that there is no bigger high for a driving enthusiast than driving through the most scenic landscapes of the country in their SUV and then spending the evening sharing their driving and travel experiences with like-minded people. Moreover, these expeditions become an excellent means of business networking and forging new associations and friendships among the corporate czars. Today, we have come a long way since our first event wherein the participation inquiries have increased manifold,” said Gupta.
Cougar Motorsport has been operating at a 15-20 per cent net profit margin, and has successfully executed 50 events as of the end of 2013.