INDIA in F1

Blog

  • Sherco TVS Rally team in stunning 3rd place, Aravind 53rd, Santosh crashes out: Dakar Stage 5

    Sherco TVS Rally team in stunning 3rd place, Aravind 53rd, Santosh crashes out: Dakar Stage 5

    Sam Sunderland tops Moto section after Stage 5. A Red Bull KTM image

    Arequipa, 11 Jan 2019: Aravind Prabhakar of Sherco TVS Rally Factory team just crossed the line finishing the Stage 5 with a splendid job to finish in 53rd place overall, after he broke into the top-50 for the first time in fifth stage. But top Indian rider CS Santosh crashed out in the tough fifth stage.

    Lorenzo Santolino is in 3rd place. In the Moto Section of the Dakar Rally 2019, Sherco TVS Rally Factory team member Lorenzo hit the highest spot in the most difficult section of 776-stage Fifth Stage to put the Indian team on a high pedestal.

    He clocked 4 hours 15.48sec and just 4 minutes away from the leader on the top spot. Other Indian team riders Oriol Mena and Joaquim Rodriques are in 16th and 18th places, riding for Hero MotoSports Team Rally.

    Adrien Metge and Michael Metge are in 24th and 29th places, respectively. The two Sherco TVS riders have displayed tremendous show to bein the top-30 on a stage which is one of the toughest in the Dakar 2019.

    The riders and drivers of the Dakar will have fully deserved their rest day, on completion of the 5th stage, which was made up of the longest and most varied timed sections on the rally.

    The start took place for everyone in Tacna, which is the furthest point from Lima that the riders and drivers have reached this year. They started the journey back to the Peruvian capital by crossing a long zone of fesh-fesh before tackling the first tracks of the day, winding through sumptuous canyons, much to the delight of photographers and skid enthusiasts.

    The long first portion came to a close in the dunes of Ilo, where the bikes and quads experienced a double dose of sand. In the meantime, the cars, SxS and trucks got to grips with a second part of the special, made up of 137 extra kilometres, with the formidable fesh-fesh already visited the day before on the menu, a terrain for the brave!

    After a discrete start to the rally, Sam Sunderland reminded everyone of the reasons why he won the Dakar in 2017. The official KTM rider managed to extricate himself from a closely fought battle at the forefront of the stage to pick up his first victory of the year and close in to less than one minute from Ricky Brabec in the general standings. Sébastien Loeb also performed masterfully in the car race to take his second stage victory since the start in Lima, finishing more than 10 minutes ahead of Nasser Al-Attiyah who reinforced his leadership of the general standings. Stéphane Peterhansel now trails the Qatari by 24 minutes. In the quad category, NicolásCavigliasso continues to ride a dream Dakar with another incontestable triumph, pushing his lead in the general standings on to almost 50 minutes and allowing him to approach the second half of the rally in peace of mind. However, it is a much closer affair in the truck race following another victory for Eduard Nikolaev who is still within reach for his team-mates Dmitry Sotnikov and AndreyKarginov in the general standings.

    Saturday January 12 is a rest day for all 2019 Dakar Rally competitors. Riders will relax in Arequipa for the day before heading out to the bivouac on Saturday evening to prepare for Sunday’s stage six that will take them back to San Juan de Marcona.

    Provisional Results Stage Five – 2019 Dakar Rally

    1. Sam Sunderland (GBR), KTM, 4:11:48
    2. Xavier de Soultrait (FRA), Yamaha, 4:15:11 +3:23
    3. Lorenzo Santolino (ESP), Sherco, 4:15:48 +4:00
    4. Adrien van Beveren (FRA), Yamaha, 4:16:14 +4:26
    5. Andrew Short (USA), Husqvarna, 4:16:24 +4:36

  • CS Santosh in 41st position, Aravind KP in 78th after 511-km of Stage 4

    Moquegua (Peru), 11 Jan 2019: Sherco TVS Rally Team is vying with Hero MotoSports Team Rally and the battle between the Indian teams seem to have tilted, only if it is for a short tiem, in favour of TVS, as TVS’ Lorenzo Santolino beat Oriol Mena to take the top-10 spot pushing the Hero to 11th spot which can be taken again anytime.

    After the 511-KM Stage 4, the riders are leaving San Juan de Marcona to fight more dunes and sandy terrain to Moquegua for the Stage 5.

    Micheal Metge is in 17th place after the Stage 4 while his brother Adrien Metge is in 21st place. So all the three Sherco TVS bikes are on target and the Indian rider KP Aravind is on 78th place.

    CS Santosh of Hero MotoSports Team Rally is in 51st position after Sage 4.

  • “Win or lose, you always learn something on a Dakar”

    “Win or lose, you always learn something on a Dakar”

    Brabec on Stage 1 from Lima to Pisco. The  image by Antonin Vincent

    From growing up in California to the Dakar tracks via years in BMX, Ricky Brabec has reached the heights of glory at break-neck speed. He made his Dakar debut in 2016 at the age of 24 with an already long list of triumphs to his credit. This son of biker parents had won nearly everything there is to win in the US, from the Baja 1000 to Baja 500, the Vegas to Reno and off course the off-road title. Spotted by the HRC Honda team, he set off on an international career with the Dakar as the focal point. The learning process as been long but promising. Ninth in his first participation in South America, he went on to claim his first stage win the following year at Uyuni. But on the Dakar, one also has to learn from one’s setbacks and Brabec mustn’t forget the past two editions on which he did not finish. It is hard to say where he slots in for this his fourth Dakar, especially alongside title contender teammates Kevin Benavides, who finished second last year and the eternally unlucky Joan Barreda. This season, the strapping Californian took a podium result in the Morocco Rally, which saw him to 5th place in the FIM World Championship. Now, he just has to finish the Dakar, and silence his detractors.

    “’I’ve always done BMX and there has always been a bike in a corner of the house. I started in off-road in 2007 and I quickly loved it. I knew I wanted to succeed. By watching videos, I saw who were the best and the fastest and I soon wanted to be like them and race against them. I learned the past few years and now I know what to do. Long distances do not scare me, I’m used to it. Each race is an opportunity to learn before going on to the next. Whether you win or lose, you always learn something.

  • Both Indian riders CS Santosh and Aravind KP safely complete the challenging Stage 3: Dakar Rally 2019

    Both Indian riders CS Santosh and Aravind KP safely complete the challenging Stage 3: Dakar Rally 2019

    Oriol Mena rides into top-10 after Stage3. Photo by Antonin Vincent

    San Juan de Marcona (Peru), 10 Jan 2019: On a highly-challenging Stage 3 of the 2019 Dakar Rally, Hero MotoSports Team Rally rider Oriol Mena has ridden an excellent 8th place, moving himself to the top-10 in the provisional overall standings on Wednesday after the end of the 798-km tough terrain run.

    Lorenzo Santolino of Sherco TVS Rally Factory team who also went into top-10 in the day, finally finished the Stage 3 in 11th place. Teammates Michael Metge was in 13 and his brother Adrien Metge was 18th.

    Joaquim Rodriques of Hero MotoSports finished the day and Stage 3 in 46th place while the top Indian rider Santosh CS, also riding for Hero, was place 64th after the tough and challenging stage three. “Today’s day started really good for me and I rode with really good feeling up until km 70 after which I had problems with my clutch. I lost a ton of time but I’m happy to have made it back to the team. I finally got 37th for the day,” said Santosh about the Day 2 performance in his social media post.

    Day 2 action of Aravind KP image courtesy Twitter @TVS_Racing

    The other Indian and the fourth Sherco TVS rider, Aravind KP, focussed on navigation with a keen intent to finish the stage, ended up 81 after Stage 3 even as 124 riders completed the stage.

    The rally will now move to the Marathon stage, where no assistance is allowed overnight and the competitors will be left to their own devices and faculties to manage their bikes and themselves.

    Recapping the day, Santosh said, ”It was an extremely difficult stage, throwing a fair share of challenges. I had the wrong lens on for today’s stage and it set me up for the struggle for most of the first part. So, I decided to ride without my goggles, which was really difficult to do. Had a few crashes, lost my way around a waypoint, so in all a very tough day. I am glad to have seen the back of it and still be in the race. ”

     

  • About IARC and Nazir Hoosein

    About IARC and Nazir Hoosein

    A Brief History
    The Daily Express 1968 London-Sydney Marathon rekindled the motor sport spark for enthusiasts in Bombay (now Mumbai). Leading long-distance drivers of the world at that time were taking part, and the overland run from London ended at Bombay, from where the cars were shipped to Perth, Australia. This gave the participants (who were also the Carnet Holders for the cars) three full days in the city prior to their departure. The inevitable interactions and dinners followed, which were memorable.
    File photo of Asian Auto Gymkhana organised by IARC in 2018.

    A direct result of this interaction was the coming together of some Indian motor sport stalwarts of that time to form a club that would begin the promotion of motor sport in Bombay. These included Ajaypat Singhania, His Highness the Maharaja of Gondal, Nazir Hoosein, Mohinder Lalwani and Kishan Rao to name a few. The IARC was then formed as a Section 25 non-profit Public Limited Company limited by guarantee.

    With the support of Ajaypat and the ground availability of JK Gram in Thane, numerous gymkhanas for cars and scrambles for motorcycles followed. Hill climbs were held in quarries where the quarry owner was happy to smoothen the road and join in the fun of a Sunday morning excursion. Hill Climbs extended far and wide and the Sinhagad Fort climb near Pune became an annual feature, which was always extremely well attended. Since it was possible to close the roads in that era, it made for a memorable and superb event.
    Serious navigation rallies were also a feature at that time. One of the members, Ravi Kumar, owned a restaurant called the Bullock Cart at Kala Ghoda. He would provide a dinner for the participating members after which, at around midnight the event started. It was a complicated navigational rally within the city of Bombay with participants returning in the morning for breakfast.
    There soon arose a need for an all-India body and the IARC played its part as one of the founding members of the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI), which later became the ASN (representative organization) of the FIA (Federation Internationale de l’Automobile – the world body for motorsport and mobility) in India and is so today.
    Unfortunately, as the years passed, the holding of events became more difficult in and around the city of Bombay and consequently, the number of events began to dwindle with the sole exception being the annual Car Rally for the Blind, which runs to this day. The commencement of the Himalayan Rally in 1980 took many of the active organizers of the IARC into its fold and this also added to the reduction of events.
    With circumstances having changed today and cars and motorcycles now being easily available, a new breed of young men and women has come forward to run events which include Drag Racing, Navigational Rallies and to also revive the Vintage Register, which assists in the restoration and running of old cars and motorcycles.
    The Chairman of the IARC, Mr. Nazir Hoosein, administered through India the second London-Sydney Marathon which ran in 1977, as also the last London-Sydney Marathon which ran in 1993. Mr Hoosein was a Formula 1 Steward from 1993 to 2008 and one of the four permanent chief stewards for Formula 1 for 8 years during this time. He was also one of the four permanent stewards for the World Rally Championship, culminating in his being the sole Chief Steward for the entire WRC from 2006 to 2008. As the President of the FIA Asian Zone for a number of years, Mr Hoosein was responsible for the promotion of motor sport in fourteen Asian countries.
    His international experience stands the IARC in good stead today which, coupled with the experience and knowledge of the other members of the Board, possibly makes the IARC the repository of the maximum motor sport knowledge in this country.
    Some years ago, the FIA’s round of the APRC ran in Pune and Bangalore and once again the IARC core team did the work behind the scenes. As mentioned earlier, the Blind Men’s Rally has run over a number of years annually and the core team is responsible for this effort also. IARC have also organized the Kutch Desert Car Rally in the Little Rann of Kutch, a Vintage Drive to Lavasa and a Freeway Drive to New Cuffe Parade for the Lodha group during 2013-2014. Recently the first round of the JK Tyre Racing Championship in Coimbatore for LGB Formula 04, FB 02, Volkswagen Polo R Cup and Vento Support race ran under IARC permits in May 2014.
    Other recent events worthy of mention:
    2014 Lavasa Women’s Drive was organised with the social objective of awareness for the early detection and prevention of women’s cancer, achieving a Guinness World Record for the maximum number of women participating in a motor sport event in the world.
    2016 Times Women’s Drive 2016. There were over 450 entries, simultaneous starting from 3 cities – Mumbai, Bangaluru and Pune – to reach Goa the next day. Once again, the objective was to create awareness about early screening and prevention of women’s cancer, with the support of the Tata Memorial Hospital.
    2017 Final Round of JK Tyre FMSCI National Racing Championship Euro JK17 & LGB Formula 4 at Budhha International Circuit, Noida.
    2017 Final round of of FIM Asia Cup of Road Race in India at Budhha International Circuit, Noida.
    2018 The Asia Auto Gymkhana Competition of India
    Office Address:
    Indian Automotive Racing Club Ltd.,
    Liberty Bldg., 41/42, Marine Lines,
    Mumbai-400020.
    Email : iarcindia@gmail.com
  • Aravind KP 60th after Second Stage while Santosh slips to 37th: Dakar Rally 2019

    Aravind KP 60th after Second Stage while Santosh slips to 37th: Dakar Rally 2019

    Aravind KP during the first stage to Pisco on Monday. A Sherco TVS image

    Pisco (Peru), 8 Jan 2019: Aravind KP of Sherco TVS Rally Factory team did a commendable job in the 553-km Second Stage of the Moto section of the Dakar Rally 2019 as he nudged ahead with a steady ride to occupy 60th position on Tuesday. After the first stage he was in 71st position.

    Meanwhile, CS Santosh of Hero Motosports Team Rally had a tough second stage but managed to stay on course as he slipped to 37th place with a time of 4 hours, 06 minutes and 20 seconds.

    Both the Indian teams saw their riders in the top-20 with Sherco TVS team’s Lorenzo Santolino and Adrien Metge in 14th and 15th positions respectively while Oriol Mena of Hero Motosports Team followed them in 16th place. Santolino did 3:43.34 while Adrien clocked 3:45.33. Oriol Mena timed 3:46.51.

    Joaquim Rodriques of Hero Motosports is in 34th place (4:03.04). Michael Metgi of Sherco TVS slipped to 69th clocking 5:05.29.

    Here is a tweet by senior motorsports editor Sirish Chandran

     

  • Loeb by a whisker: Dakar Rally Second Stage

    Pisco (Peru), 8 Jan 2019: A brief report of the Dakar Rally 2019 after the second stage on Tuesday.

    Focus
    The second longest stage of the rally varied in aspect, with an alternation of dunes, sandy tracks and potions of beaches. Once they had made it passed the difficulties of Ica’s dunes, the riders and drivers headed to the Pacific Ocean and followed the coast for one hundred kilometres, over small dunes and sandy beaches. A quicker section heading north was perfectly utilised by Sébastien Loeb, who managed to keep sufficient pace in the last 50 kilometres through the dunes of Ocucaje, just before the finishing line of the special.

    The essentials

    After caution the day before, Sébastien Loeb unleashed his talent to let the lion on his Peugeot 3008 roar this Tuesday on the long special finishing in San Juan de Marcona. The man from Alsace did not make the slightest mistake and held out against the amazing comeback by Nani Roma, who was timed at just 8 seconds behind Loeb on the finishing line. In 4th place, Giniel de Villiers took command of the general standings in which Stéphane Peterhansel plummeted downwards after losing almost 20 minutes stuck in a dune. Such difficulties were brilliantly negotiated by Chaleco López for only his second stage in an SxS, allowing him to add to the excellent roll of honour (3rd overall in 2013 and 2014) which he started on a bike, 5 years after his last appearance on the Dakar. Matthias Walkner can also already boast an improved victory count. The Austrian was faithful to his role as title holder and beat Ricky Brabec at the death by just 22 seconds at the end of a superb duel between the two men throughout the stage. In 3rd, Joan Barreda still leads the general standings. In the quad race, the same classification is heavily dominated by Nicolás Cavigliasso thanks to the Argentinean rider’s second successive stage win. In the truck race, there were also two stage wins in a row, as Eduard Nikolaev triumphed again behind the wheel of his Kamaz.

    Performance of the day

    For his second Dakar after an impressive showing in 2016 and a fine top 10 finish at the outcome, Harry Hunt today showed that he possesses pure talent. The Englishman took time to return to his best level after a neck injury in late 2016, but today demonstrated that he perfectly knows how to handle the Peugeot 3008 DKR Maxi entrusted to him this year as a team-mate to Sébastien Loeb. Hunt grabbed 9th place in the first stage before improving to finish in 7th position on the first major test of this year’s Dakar. Car manufacturer Peugeot has left the event, but two of its former cars have nonetheless made it into the top 10.

    A crushing blow

    With Adrien Van Beveren’s 7th place, 9 minutes behind the winner, and the 12th position achieved by Xavier de Soultrait, 16 minutes behind Walkner, the Yamaha clan have little to smile about. Both men have not yet seemed able to keep pace with the rhythm imposed by the leading lights of the Honda and KTM teams. For the moment, they are far from reaching their goals. The damage in the general standings is already significant and the two Frenchman will be keen to reverse the trend tomorrow in the dunes around Acari.

    Stat of the day

    2: the number of SxS competitors taking part in the Dakar who have already participated in this category. Almost half of the field are newcomers to the Dakar!

    Quote of the day

    “I got stuck in a really bad place.”

    Stéphane Peterhansel: “For us it was not an easy stage. We started with some electrical problems inside the car: no microphones, no air-conditioning, no wipers, nothing was ok. I lost my concentration a little bit and after I got stuck in a really bad place. We are happy because Cyril stopped for us and pulled us out. In the end we have lost a lot of time, but without the help of Cyril I think we would probably still be in the same place, so it’s ok”.

  • Santosh in creditable 20th after 331km of Stage 1; Aravind 71st: Dakar Rally

    Santosh in creditable 20th after 331km of Stage 1; Aravind 71st: Dakar Rally

    Adrien Metge of Sherco TVS rally team during Stage 1 Lima to Pisco on 7 Jan 2019. Photo by Antonin Vincent

    Lima, 7 Jan 2019: Michael Metge of Sherco TVS Rally team is placed in 12th while Oriol Mena of Hero Motosports Team Rally is in 14th place at the end of Stage 1 after covering a distance of 331km in the Moto section of the Dakar Rally 2019 which began in Peru on Sunday.

    Santosh CS, is standing a creditable 20th after the first leg, and is doing better than his Hero Motosports teammate Joaquim Rodriques who is three places behind him in 23rd place after the first leg.

    Right behind him in 24th and 25th places are the other Indian team members of Sherco TVS Rally Factory team. Adrien Metge is in 24th place while Lorenzo Santolino is in 25th place. The second Indian in the field, Aravind KP, also of Sherco TVS Rally team is going steady in 71st place with the sole aim of finishing the Dakar in his third attempt.

    Santosh took a time of 1 hours 6 minutes and 49 seconds, a difference of 9:13 minutes to the first to cover the 331-km first stage while Aravind took 1hr 24.23 to be classified in 71st place out of a total of 135 participants who were classified after Stage 1.

    Meanwhile, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing have completed a successful stage one of the 2019 Dakar Rally with Sam Sunderland, Toby Price and Matthias Walkner all finishing well inside the top 10. Luciano Benavides put in a solid performance to claim the 15th fastest time of the day with KTM Factory Racing’s Laia Sanz and Mario Patrao placing 31st and 36th respectively.

    Provisional results after Stage 1: Joan Barreda Bort, Monster Energy Honda Team 2019, 57 minutes, 36 seconds; 2. Pablo Quintanilla, Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing, 59:10; 3. Ricky Brabec, Monster Energy Honda Team 2019, 1:00.28; 12. Michael Metge, Sherco TVS Rally Factory Team, 1:04.25; 14. Oriol Mena, Hero Motosports Team Rally, 1:04.43; 20. Santosh CS, Hero Motosports Team Rally, 1:06.49; 23. Joaquim Rodriques, Hero Motosports Team Rally, 1: 07.50; 24. Adrien Metge, Sherco TVS Rally Factory Team,  1:07.52; 25. Lorenzo Santolino, Sherco TVS Rally Factory Team, 1:08.29; 71. Aravind Prabhakar, Sherco TVS Rally Factory Team, 1: 24.23.

    edited 8jan19 at 1pm

  • Formula E: Sirtokin, Dejonghe to get behind Mahindra Racing’s M5Electro

    Formula E: Sirtokin, Dejonghe to get behind Mahindra Racing’s M5Electro

    M5Electro during the launch in India on Dec 10th. A Mahindra Racing image

    Morocco, 7 Jan 2019: With days to go until the second race of the 2018/19 ABB FIA Formula E Championship season takes place on the majestic streets of Marrakesh, Morocco, the full line up of fresh talent taking part in the official rookie test on Sunday January 13 has been revealed.

    After driving for Audi Sport ABT Scheaffler in last season’s rookie test, Dutch Formula 2 driver Nyck de Vires will get behind the wheel of the number two Envision Virgin Racing car, joined by French Audi Sport Factory driver and three-time Le Mans winner Benoit Treluyer who will take out the number four car.

    For Panasonic Jaguar Racing, Brazilian driver Pietro Fittipaldi  – Grandson of Formula One champion Emmerson Fittipaldi – returns to the British team for the second year running alongside Le Mans 24 Hour winner Harry Tincknell, who tested for the NIO Formula E team last year.

    New Formula E entrant HWA Racelab will put Mercedes DTM driver Daniel Juncadella to the test behind the wheel. The Spanish driver is joined by Italian Raffaele Marciello who clinched the Blancpain GT Series Championship title last year.

    For NIO Formula E Team, Formula Three race winner and 2015 British GT Championship winner Jamie Chadwick will return to the team after taking part in the in-season test following the opening round in Saudi Arabia. Chadwick will be one of two female talents taking to the track on January 13.

    For all-American team Geox Dragon, Antonio Fuoco will take out the number seven car. The Italian joined Geox Dragon for pre-season testing in Valencia alongside new full-time Dragon driver Maximilian Guenther. The team are yet to confirm a second driver for the rookie test.

    Joining reigning champions Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler, is Audi DTM driver Jamie Green who will get behind the wheel of the Audi e-tron FE05. Alongside Green will be Nico Muller, who returns to the team following a record-breaking session at the rookie test in Marrakesh last season, as well as time with the team following the opening round of the season in Saudi Arabia.

    Venturi Formula E Team will put forward Arthur Leclerc – brother of Formula One driver Charles Leclerc – who joined the team’s new electric motor sport academy last year. The Monagasque driver will be joined by Frenchman Norman Nato in the number 48 car.

    For newcomers Nissan e.dams, NISMO driver and winner of the 2017 Japan F3 championship Mitsunori Takaboshi will rejoin the team for the rookie test after taking part last year. Takaboshi will be joined by seasoned GT driver Jann Mardenborough, who graduated from the marque’s GT Academy in 2011 and embarked on a career as a professional racing driver.

    DS Techeetah will test it’s development driver James Rossiter alongside Formula One test driver Tatiana Calderon, who took part in the in-season test after the season opener in Saudi Arabia.

    BMW i Andretti Motorsport will front BMW DTM drivers Bruno Spengler and Marco Wittmann at the test on Sunday, January 13. Completing the grid will be Sergey Sirotkin and Sam Dejonghe who will get behind Mahindra Racing’s M5Electro following the 2019 Marrakesh E-Prix on Saturday, January 12.

     

    RACE #

     TEAM

    CAR

    DRIVER
    2 Envision Virgin Racing Audi e-tron FE05 Nyck de Vries (NLD)
    3 Panasonic Jaguar Racing Jaguar I-Type III Pietro Fittipaldi (BRA)
    4 Envision Virgin Racing Audi e-tron FE05 Benoit Treluyer (FRA)
    5 HWA RACELAB Venturi VFE05 Daniel Juncadella (ESP)
    6 GEOX DRAGON Penske EV-3 TBA
    7 GEOX DRAGON Penske EV-3 Antonio Fuoco (ITA)
    8 NIO Formula E Team NIO Sport 004 Jamie Chadwick (GBR)
    11 Audi Sport Abt Schaeffler Audi e-tron FE05 Jamie Green (GBR)
    16 NIO Formula E Team NIO Sport 004 TBA
    17 HWA RACELAB Venturi VFE05 Raffaele Marciello (ITA)
    19 Venturi Formula E Team Venturi VFE05 Arthur Leclerc (MCO)
    20 Panasonic Jaguar Racing Jaguar I-Type III Harry Tincknell (GBR)
    22 Nissan e.dams Nissan IM01 Mitsunori Takaboshi (JPN)
    23 Nissan e.dams Nissan IM01 Jann Mardenborough (GBR)
    25 DS TECHEETAH DS E-Tense FE 19 James Rossiter (GBR)
    27 BMW i Andretti Motorsport BMW iFE.18 Bruno Spengler (CAN)
    28 BMW i Andretti Motorsport BMW iFE.18 Marco Wittmann (DEU)
    36 DS TECHEETAH DS E-Tense FE 19 Tatiana Calderon (COL)
    48 Venturi Formula E Team Venturi VFE05 Norman Nato (FRA)
    64 MAHINDRA RACING Mahindra M5Electro Sergey Sirtokin (RUS)
    66 Audi Sport Abt Schaeffler Audi e-tron FE05 Nico Muller (CHE)
    94 MAHINDRA RACING Mahindra M5Electro Sam Dejonghe (BEL)
  • Dakar Rally: The heavyweights step into the ring; Santosh, Aravind raring to go

    Dakar Rally: The heavyweights step into the ring; Santosh, Aravind raring to go

    An image after the Dakar Rally Press conference photo shoot in Lima, Peru on Jan 4. Image by Gianna Velarde

    Lima, 6 Jan 2019: As the Dakar Rally begins, here are some key points for the fans ➢ and enthusiasts as the rally this year is confined to one country, Peru.

    ➢ Sherco TVS Rally Factory team is back to take on the world’s toughest rally, Dakar for the 5th time. This year, the rally will cover the harshest terrain known to man across Peru, starting on Sunday.

    ➢ CS Santosh will represent Hero MotoSports Team Rally. The Indian rider is taking part in Dakar for the fifth time and is the only Indian who finished Dakar. Santosh came 35th last year.

    ➢ Aravind KP from Sherco TVS is the other Indian rider in the Dakar Rally. Taking part for the third time, Aravind, the Bengaluru boy will be looking to complete the Dakar this time. He crashed out in 2017 and 2018.

    ➢ 541 competitors and 334 vehicles including 137 motorbikes, 26 quads, 130 cars (including 30 SxS) and 41 trucks were cleared to start the 41st edition of the Dakar at the end of the technical and administrative scrutineering.

    ➢ Before the start of the race, the drivers, riders and crews will get a big send-off from the fans during the podium ceremony in Lima. The celebration will take place on Magdalena beach, where over 100,000 visitors flocked to enjoy a wide range of activities in the Feria Dakar over the last three days.

    ➢ The first round comes Monday with a sand-packed 84-km course in the Pisco region. Let the dune festival begin! Contenders for the Dakar titles have spent months focusing on their objective.

    However, the last few days before the race have been the ideal time to sit back and relax… or even go on holiday! Stéphane Peterhansel, for example, took the opportunity to go on a romantic break in Machu Picchu with his wife, Andrea, who will be racing in a Side by Side (SxS) in her Dakar comeback.

    Nasser Al-Attiyah, on the other hand, embarked on a gastronomic adventure and even learned to make ceviche with one of the famous chefs in Lima. Sébastien Loeb, always looking for a shot of adrenaline, capped his training with a challenge at the wheel of his Peugeot 3008… going head-to-head with an aeroplane.

    Yet the time has come for everyone to get down to business. The anticipated duel between Mini and Toyota, with the nine-time world rally champion and his Peugeot trying to fish in troubled waters, was the talk of the town on Las Palmas Air Base.

    For now, the protagonists are content to reject the pressure that comes with being favourite. “In terms of reliability, we could have done with more time to fine-tune some little pieces. We’re talking details here, but it could have an impact”, says “Peter” about his buggy, while Nasser Al-Attiyah, widely acclaimed as the best dune surfer in the world, tries to play down expectations by stressing that “we need to be really focused and not lose any time with the navigation”.

    The favourites to win the motorbike race are also hedging their bets. Especially Toby Price, who still feels “a little bit of pain” after breaking his right scaphoid while training a few weeks ago. The Australian winner of the 2016 race is far from the only card KTM has to play in its effort to extend its dominance in the rally, with Sam Sunderland and Matthias Walkner feeling as strong as when they claimed the last two editions.

    However, they are acutely aware of the threat from Yamaha’s blue motorbikes, whose leader Adrien Van Beveren is widely seen as KTM’s main rival. “I see it as something positive”, says the French rider. “This is what I’ve been working for, to try and win. If people think I have what it takes, it means I’m right where I want to be.” His impeccable logic brings hope to the Yamaha clan, which is also fielding riders such as Xavier de Soultrait and Franco Caimi. The duel starts Monday.