In Conversation With Aravind K P

There was a stark difference in the way Aravind KP approached the 2019 Dakar rally. In the previous two instances, he has gone gung-ho right from the opening stage which has proven to be detriment to his cause. However, this year we saw a more calm, composed and, more importantly, matured Aravind as the Mangalorean went on to complete the toughest rally in the world. We caught up with him and wanted to learn more about his exploits. So here’s his story leading up to the 2019 Dakar.

Hard, tough but overall satisfying
“We knew it was going to be hard and going into the second week I felt better. I did not look at positions too often. Just kept on doing what needed to be done. I had some good days, some bad ones as well. Mostly good though. But it was to get the bike at the bivouac everyday.”

Important to get the bike home
“It was very important to bring the bike home in one piece. I tried it twice in the past and was unsuccessful. But it is so gratifying to finally get the monkey of my back. It has boosted my confidence and I am a lot more positive than ever before.”

Not 100 per cent to start
“My injury prior to Dakar was perhaps a blessing in disguise. Do not get me wrong, I would have loved to be better but I was riding through most of the rally at 60-65 per cent of my potential. I kept my self cool and got myself to the finish line.”

100 per cent Peru = Hardest Dakar ever
“Many thought that though the Dakar was all in a single country. The stages were immensely difficult. Lot of off piste sections, lot of fesh fesh, lot of trail section. Many dangers were not given in the roadbook as it was off piste. Very challenging and very exhausting. I mean even on our rest day we had a 260-odd km transport stage.”

Visibility was a big challenge
“Going through fesh fesh sections is always tricky. Especially if you are coming through the field, the dust cloud hampers visibility by a big margin. It did catch a lot of riders, including me, out. I had one hairy moment where my rear wheel just hit a small rock at over triple digit speeds. Luckily, I was able to slow it down before I hit the consecutive rock.”

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My teammates instilled hope in me
“After I injured myself at the PanAfrica rally, it was a big knock to my self confidence. However, had it not been for my teammates (Michael Metge, Adrien Metge and Lorenzo Santolino) who kept egging me on, kept bringing out the positive, believed a bit more in me than I did myself to overcome the tough time.”

Goal is to finish once more
“The plan is to finish. I do not want to focus on positions but just to complete once again. That said, I want to be in a better shape going into Dakar 2020. I also want to have more saddle time and hopefully be a bit faster than before.”