TVS Announces Riders For 2018 Dakar Rally

Sherco TVS Factory Rally Team has announced its squad for the upcoming 2018 Dakar Rally. Three riders will be representing the Indian team at the endurance event: Adrien Metge from France, Joan Pedrero from Spain and Aravind KP from India. TVS is the first Indian manufacturer to compete in the gruelling Dakar Rally when it made its debut in 2015, and this will be its fourth outing. The Sherco TVS Factory Rally Team had a good outing last year and the team has set itself a target of finishing in the top 10 position in Dakar 2018.

This year’s event will be the 40th edition of what is labelled as among the most toughest motorsport events held across the globe. Dakar 2018 will be held between January 6 and January 20 and it will traverse through three countries - Peru, Bolivia and Argentina. Participants will cover a total distance of over 9000km before crossing the finish line in Cordoba in Argentina. For Indian rider KP Aravind, this will be his second outing in Dakar and his main target will be to finishing the gruelling rally as an injury suffered in a crash meant he had to withdraw from the event last year. 

Joan Pedrero is the most experienced rider in the team as he will be competing in his 10th Dakar Rally, while it will be the third outing for Metge. The Sherco TVS Factory team has already participated in four international rally-raid events this year in preparation for 2018 Dakar. These include Baja Aragon, Merzouga Rally, PanAfrica Rally and OiLibya Rally of Morocco, all of which the team achieved satisfying results in. Speaking at the announcement, Arun Siddharth, Vice President, Marketing, TVS Motors said, “ We spent more time customising bikes to riders needs. Aravind’s riding style has changed from how he ride last year. Each rider has to be comfortable to be confident. We have been fine tuning the (engine) maps for each one”