Aravind, Metge for India Baja rally

Bengaluru: As part of the Dakar Challenge series to prepare riders for the gruelling conditions they face at the showpiece Dakar Rally 2018, TVS Racing announced star rider Aravind K.P. and Adrien Metge in their team for the India Baja 2017, set to begin in Jaisalmer on April 8.

The two participants boast big-game experience, including competing at the Dakar Rally 2017 in South America, and will mount their nimble RTR 450 motorcycles on the sandy dunes of the Thar desert for the two-day off-road India Baja rally. They will prove inspirational to the other two riders joining them — Desert Storm 2017 winner R. Nataraj and defending national rally champion Abdul Wahid Tanveer.

The second edition of this 4000km event will prove especially important to Nataraj and Tanveer, who’ve never been to the Dakar, as the rookie winner will receive a free ticket to the 2017 Merzouga Rally as well as the 40th edition of the Dakar next year.

“India Baja has been included as a part of the Dakar challenge, which means that it is a qualifying race for Dakar (the toughest rally of the world). With an event of such magnitude taking place in India, it definitely puts our country on the global roadmap for motorsports. It will also open up new avenues for Indian racers in India,” said Aravind, winner of 17 titles.

The team will be bolstered by two-time Dakar Rally finisher in Metge, who will taste Indian conditions for the first time in Rajasthan. The Frenchman previously stood 11th in 2016, and 22nd last year, and the Patagonian-terrain specialist’s presence lends credence to the rising stock of India’s motorsport fraternity.