India Baja Dakar Challenge Race To Be Held From April 7-9

The second edition of the famed India Baja is all set to kick the dirt off on April 7th. The three-day international event is promoted by Northern Motorsports India, in partnership with Rajasthan Tourism, and will be held in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan. The biggest attraction, however, is the chance for the winners to take part in the Dakar Challenge Series, along with the Sonora Rally in South Africa and the Afriquia Merzouga Rally in Morocco.

This makes the 2017 Baja the first motorsports event in India to be a part of the globally acclaimed Dakar Challenge series. The moto winner in the two-wheeler category will be granted a free entry at the 2018 Dakar Rally, which will begin from Peru in January 2018. The winner will also get a free entry in the Afriquia Merzouga Rally in Morocco that will be held in May 2017 and is a part of the Dakar Series of races. Both the India Baja Dakar Challenge and Dakar Series races are ideal for unearthing fresh talent to compete in the most gruelling off-road race on the planet—the Dakar Rally. For the winning rider at the India Baja, the free entries in the two top-level global competitions translate into prizes worth in excess of € 20,000 (over Rs 13.8 Lakh).

Marc Coma, Sporting Director of the Dakar Rally and 5-time Dakar winner in the moto class said: “As a former rider, I'm very excited to see the promotion of the discipline in India. From now onwards, riders have a relevant platform to discover and practice road book and navigation, a stepping stone to attend Dakar Series events or even the Dakar itself.”

The 2017 India Baja will act as an ideal proving ground for professional rallyists, where their skills are tested in the most extreme driving conditions and under stringent international cross-country rallying rules and regulations. The rally will be conducted over two legs, which is divided into six stages covering a total competitive distance of 430 km. With an additional 200 km as liaison, the competitors will be tackling a total distance of over 630 km.

The event will witness lots of pro riders, including Portuguese rider Joaquim Rodriguez, representing Hero Motorsports Team Rally, French pilot Adrien Metge and Indian Aravind K.P., both representing TVS Racing. 

Unfortunately, India’s top rally-raid rider, C.S. Santosh of Hero Motorsports and winner of the first edition of India Baja in 2016, has to sit this one out because he is still recovering from a neck injury that he suffered in a crash in the Desert Storm rally in January. For Aravind, the India Baja will mark his return to competitive racing after recovering from the shoulder injury he suffered in early January in Argentina. Other notable riders participating in the raid include national champions R. Nataraj and Abdul Wahid Tanveer of TVS Racing. 

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The rally will be flagged off from the Marriot Hotel in Jaisalmer on April 7 and will conclude at the same venue on April 9th. The rally raid will see the participation of 40 top riders in the bike category across different classes and more than 100 competitors in total. In the four-wheeler category, the winner will get a free entry in the 2018 edition of Maruti Suzuki Desert Storm. 

India Baja 2017 is a result of over 150 days of preparation along with 50 days of field recce. The event will have over 50 official vehicles with a team of 100 volunteers. A total of 10 fully equipped ambulances and 20 trained medics will be deputed to ensure the safety of the participants.

Also read: Exclusive: Sherco TVS 2017 Dakar Bike Ridden