A scene from the Malaysian Rain Forest Challenge.
This year’s edition of the off-road event, Rainforest Challenge India, held annually in Goa, during the monsoon, was special for Athul Thomas and Binil Babu as they emerged champions in the 4X4 Stock class in their Maruti Jimny. Rainforest Challenge is a global extreme off-road motorsport event headquartered in Malaysia, attracting motorsports enthusiasts from across the world. The event concluded on August 1.
No other Kerala team has won in this category before, making this win even more special for the duo, who call their team Killerbull. The other teams from Kerala won in the Extreme and Modified categories.
Athul Thomas and Binil Babu, winners of the 4X4 Stock class at the RCF, Goa
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SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Athul, with an experience of 10 years, is a veteran of more than 300 similar motorsports events held across the country, while Binil is more into motorbike racing. This was his first time racing in a car. He literally went along for the ride, as co-driver, because Athul is a friend from Kerala’s racing circuit. He confesses that he had no prior experience in four wheelers, “but I brought in my experience as a bike racer.”
“This was a four-day event, with 14 different stages spread across the days. There were 24 other cars in our category. The terrain is tough, you are literally driving through forests with uneven paths, there are no roads really. Just cones marking the way. It is gruelling and intense,” says Binil, who is a manager at Ducati Kochi. The duo scored 1,247 points out of 1,400.
RCF is rated among the top 10 toughest motor races and one of the top five toughest off-road races. The Indian edition, supported by the State Government of Goa, has drivers from across the country battle it out in extreme conditions — incessant rain, uneven/unfamiliar terrain and slush — to come up tops.
Though they are happy about the win, Binil wishes participants in the sport could get sponsorships. “Preparing for the race cost us close to ₹6 lakh. We dipped into our savings to make this happen. If we get sponsors, it lightens the financial burden considerably,” he says. The winners in 4X4 Extreme class representing Arunachal Pradesh got a hero’s treatment, he mentions.
“We are not looking at that kind of support, but something from local sponsors would be helpful for those of us who are into motorsports. Kerala has many talented drivers and riders, unfortunately they cannot follow their passion because of how expensive the sport is. Also this is a great outlet for youngsters who love speed, it changes your perspective on it, your entire attitude towards it (speed) becomes healthy,” Binil adds.
Published – August 08, 2026 02:44 pm IST
