India Baja 2018 to kickstart tomorrow

The India Baja, also known as the ‘Road to Dakar’, is all set to begin tomorrow from Hotel Jaisalkot in Jaisalmer. The two day event will see participants cover more than 650km including the transport stage in just 48 hours. The terrain will be a mix of dirt tracks and dunes. The first day will have three stages and the second day will have two stages. The bikes have analogue road books mounted on the dash, which have to be operated manually by the riders via knobs to scroll through. The India Baja is organised by Northern Motorsport.

The competitive stage covers around 400km. The winner of the India Baja 2018 will get a complimentary entry in the 42nd edition of Dakar, the toughest motorsport event in the world along with a free entry into the Merzouga Rally 2019. The monetary benefits for the winner amounts to Euro 20,000.

In an unfortunate turn of events, Asbakmon Tharoth K from Angata Racing got lost in the desert yesterday and did not turn up in the evening yesterday. Fearing his safety, the team immediately informed the authorities, who launched a search and rescue operation to find him. They searched till 2 a.m in the morning, in vain. They again resumed the search at 5 a.m and found him unconscious late in the morning, far off the track. There is no official news about his current state. He was to participate in the 250-400cc Moto category. We will keep you updated about the same as soon as we get info about his health. Angata Racing has backed out from the rally.

Moving on, more than 115 participants, including international riders like Santolino Lorenzo, are set to take on the dunes and tracks of the Thar desert. This is the highest number of participants in the India Baja to date. There are two categories – Moto category (two wheeler and quads) and the Xtreme category, for cars and SUVs. CS Santosh, the lone rider from Hero MotoSports will be riding his Speedbrain 450 rally spec motorcycle and aim for a good finish in both days. TVS Motors have arrived with a strong contingent and will look to dominate the Moto category. While Santolino Lorenzo, Abdul Wahid Tanveer and R Nataraj will compete in Class A (up to 450cc), Imran Pasha and Rajendra R E are aiming to win big in Class B (up to 250cc).

In the Xtreme category, Niju Padia and Nirav Mehta from Desert Raiders are participating in the T2 category in their rally spec Mitsubishi Pajero. Aabhishek Mishra will be driving his Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara in the T2 class (above 1350cc). Harjee Motorsport has arrived with a strong contingent of six teams and all of them are driving rally spec Maruti Suzuki Gypsys in the T1 class (up to 1350cc) and will be looking for a strong finish in both days.

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