India Baja 2018: The Indian Edition Of The 'Road to Dakar' Rally

The Indian edition of the ‘Road to Dakar’ challenge runs across the length and breadth of the Western Thar desert. The competition saw 132 participants rallying more than 650 km in just 48 hours, making it one of the toughest endurance tests ever in Indian motorsport.

The third season of the India Baja, the Indian edition of the internationally coveted ‘Road to Dakar’ Challenge, is back in the dunes of Rajasthan. With special stages starting from 18th August, the competition will travel more than 650 km across Jaisalmer in just 48 hours, before the announcement of the ultimate winner on 19th of August.

Being a ‘Road to Dakar’ challenge, one of the just five such challenges held across the planet, the winner of the India Baja 2018 will get a direct gratis entry to the 42nd Dakar Rally to be held in South America in 2020. The winner will also be entitled to a complimentary entry to Morocco’s Afriquia Merzouga Rally of 2019. The total monetary advantages to the winner of the competition amount to €20,000, which covers the registration fee for one motorcycle in both the events.  

This year, 132 contenders in Moto and Xtreme Categories will battle for these rewards. Apart from having entries from far nooks and corners of the country, India Baja 2018 will host the largest-ever contingent of top-notch international riders in an Indian motorsport competition, including Dakar Rally regulars like Lorenzo Santolino, Aaron Mare, Benjamin Melot, CS Santosh, amongst others. It will also host the highest number of women participants ever in any major international rally-raid motorsport event in India.

Mr. Jayesh Desai (President of Northern Motorsport, the organizers of India Baja) said, “The aim of India Baja was to open Indian motorsport to all of the world and all sections of the society. With numerous local & overseas participants at the competition, including amateurs, professionals, women, as well as students, I believe we’ve been successful in accomplishing that goal”

India Baja 2018 will be held in two categories, 

1. The Moto Category (2-wheel motorbikes & Quad bikes) 
2. Xtreme Category (4-wheel vehicles), 

With a varying number of sub-groups & sub-classes in both the categories. Each participating entry in the Moto Category consists of the rider, while each entry in Xtreme Category consists of a driver and a co-driver. The entire run of the competition is divided into 5 Special Stages (SS), which test the participants’ driving skills, physical endurance, and mental strength. India Baja is based on the rally-raid format, in which participants traverse their vehicles through long distance offroad tracks in a given amount of time.  

Mr. Raj Kapoor (Vice-President of Northern Motorsport) elaborates: - “The 2018 edition of India Baja is going to be a navigational challenge like never before. We are providing no gpx tracks to the participants and very few way-points will be placed on the tracks. This is in line with our quest to push 360-degree development of the participants, by allocating equal focus on the development of their riding/driving and navigational skills. We are also offering special training sessions for amateur participants; which will be presided over by Dakar-experienced rallyists.”

This year, the course of the India Baja will move through massive dunes, loose sand & gravel-filled natural terrains in a cloverleaf fashion around the competition base at Hotel Jaisalkot in Jaisalmer. The Leg 1, which comprises of SS 1, SS 2, and SS 3, started early morning on 18th August from the competition base and ended at dusk at the same venue. The Leg 2, consisting of SS 4 & SS 5, started at the same time from competition base on 19th August and ended around 2:00 PM. Later that evening, the eventual winners of India Baja 2018 were be felicitated at a grand prize distribution ceremony to be held at the competition base in Hotel Jaisalkot.  

UPDATE -

Lorenzo Santolino and Arindam Saikia win their categories at India Baja 2018. Spain’s Lorenzo Santolino of TVS Racing won the Moto Category at India Baja. Arindam Saikia (Co-driver Jeevarathinam J) emerged victorious in the Xtreme category at the event.

Two grueling days of high endurance rallying and over 650 km on some of the country’s harshest terrains – the heroes of India Baja 2018 braced it all with all but one aim, the coveted title of India’s toughest rally-raid. After an all-out assault in the dunes of Jaisalmer, Spain’s Lorenzo Santolino of TVS Racing won the Moto Category at India Baja 2018 with the cumulative timings of 3 hours 38 minutes 46 seconds. In the Xtreme category, Arindam Saikia (Co-driver Jeevarathinam J) survived all odds to win the Xtreme category with cumulative timings of 5 hours 8 minutes 48 seconds.

Santolino was followed by India’s CS Santosh of Hero MotoSports Team Rally with cumulative timings of 4 hours 3 minutes 18 seconds. Santosh, who was breathing fire down the neck of Santolino till the very end, lost the Moto Category title due to a 30-minute penalty in the Special Stage (SS) 5, the last stage of the competition. TVS Racing’s Abdul Wahid Tanveer, who won the ticket to Dakar Rally 2019 at previous edition of India Baja, was at the third position on the podium of Moto Category this year with cumulative timings of 4 hours 18 minutes 10 seconds.    

In the Xtreme Category, Arindam was tailed by Team Harjee Motorsport’s Himanshu Arora (Co-driver Kunal Kashyap) with cumulative timings of 5 hours and 38 minutes, and Team Desert Raiders’ Narayan Balan (Co-driver Chirag Thakur) with cumulative timings of 5 hours 39 minutes and 8 seconds at the second and third positions respectively. 

Lorenzo Santolino after winning the Moto Category at India Baja 2018, “This victory is really a very happy moment for me given that I was pretty close to winning the Desert Storm Rally earlier this year in the same terrains, but could not. I would like to thank my whole team and my supporters for making it possible. I think India Baja is a great event.”

Lorenzo Santolino and Arindam Saikia, alongside other podium finishers, category winners and special award winners, were awarded at a grand prize distribution ceremony held at Hotel Jaisalkot, Jaisalmer, in the presence of Mr. Anop Abraham from Isuzu Motors, Mr. Manav Kapoor from Steelbird Tyres, Dr. Harshil Mehta from Shalby hospitals, and Mr. Reza Kazerooni from Monster Energy.  

In the Special Awards Category, the Team Trophy at India Baja 2018 went to Team Desert Raiders in the Xtreme Category and to Team TVS Racing in the Moto Category. Apart from that, the Tuner Trophy went to Polaris India in the Xtreme Category and to TVS Racing in the Moto Category.    

Being a ‘Road to Dakar’ challenge, one of the just three such challenges held across the planet, the winner of the India Baja 2018 will get a direct gratis entry to the 42nd Dakar Rally to be held in South America in 2020. The winner will also be entitled to a complimentary entry to Morocco’s Afriquia Merzouga Rally of 2019. The total monetary advantages to the winner of the competition amount to €20,000, which covers the registration fee for one motorcycle in both the events.