More about the Malabar Rampage 2023 from Princely’s view:
The morning of day 5 was special – our teams got interviewed by a state news agency! Cochin start was decorated by the media and all the teams had fun being photographed and interviewed.
It was a trouble free day, except Team 9 did not keep their timing well. When the last message I saw they had 40 km to Calicut and it was around 6.30 and they were on the coastal road, avoiding the highway. It was 19 km away from me. I just rerouted our service car as all the teams had arrived at the base hotel then. They reached the hotel by 8 pm without calling for any support. It took the service van about 8.30 pm to reach the hotel. The teams shared some beers and some fun before going to bed.
On day 6 the teams have to cover a long distance, so they wanted to leave early. Team 4, the Tuk Ups, team from New Zealand started as early as 6.30 am and left the message that they left the luggage at the reception. We, the crew, were also equally early and reached before they left the hotel. Rest of the teams all left before 8 am.
We filled diesel and started from the base hotel within 15 min from the time the teams left. When we were about to find a breakfast place, I got a service call from Team 4. They were just 20 km away from us according to the location pin. Before we could go there, they were helped by the locals to a mechanic shop. When the service team met them the mechanic hadn’t opened the shop yet. It was a small pin which held hands in the gear shift from the cable draw that had just slipped out. It took the mechanics just 5 minutes and they were back on the road.
After that it was a trouble free day. From the conversation in the group chat, I could track where they are. Even though Team 4 and 9 started early they were behind all the groups at lunch time. At around 4 pm, I sensed it was going to be a late reach for the destination. Around 6, I received a call from Team 6 for a clutch issue. By that time the team had 50km still to cover and the other two teams 9 and 4 were behind them.
Once the clutch was changed and the team left the spot, I saw the other two teams behind them. At around 7 I got a call from team 4 complaining about no lights. Within 15 minutes we caught them and it was just a small loose connection that was set right immediately. After that we followed them closely and finished the day at around 8.30. Team 6 reached the hotel without any support at 8 pm and found the rest of the group in a microbrewery. Beer and fun was always a good way to windoff a long tedious day.
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