INDIA in F1

Tag: Jatin Jain

  • Sanjay Takale impressive on Stage 1; Ashish Raorane, Jatin Jain complete Day 2 on bikes

    Sanjay Takale impressive on Stage 1; Ashish Raorane, Jatin Jain complete Day 2 on bikes

    Bisha (Saudi Arabia), 4 January 2025: All the three Indians at the iconic Dakar Rally completed the first stage successfully on Saturday. Travelling south from Bisha, the air gets thinner and thinner as the road approaches 1,300 metres. The drop in oxygen levels is barely noticeable, but the landscape is no longer the same. Near the middle of the special, the entrants had their work cut out for them exploring the canyons and powering their way up rock-strewn sandy plateaus! The 412 km stage was a test of concentration and sand-surfing skills and the three INdians, Sanjay Takale in Classic Cars sections and, Ashish Raorane and Jatin Jain in the Rally2 class of bikes section managed to finish the day without any hiccups.

    Earlier on Day 1, top Indian rider and last year’s Rally 2 Champion, Harith Noah had a bad crash, fractured his wrist and withdrew from the Dakar 2025. The Sherco TVS Factory rider suffered a premature end to his campaign.

    Sanjay Takale – Classic Cars

    As expected it was a tough long day for all the categories and even the Classics had a long day of 374km Stage 1. The Pune driver, Takale had a good run as both driver and navigator worked well in tandem to finish the day in 37th overall out of 96 cars. In his class H1B class, Sanjay moved up to 5th place out of 11 cars. Tomorrow Stage 02 is the first part of the Chrono stage. Classic cars, come back to Bisha but only 90 minutes of service is allowed.

    Earlier on the first day, as Dakar kicked off with a short prologue, aerpace Racer Sanjay Takale settled into the race and secured an impressive 13th place overall.

    Ashish Raorane – Bikes Rally 2

    Raorane started second today as the start order was based on the reverse order of the prologue results. The 499-km stage with 412-km competitive stage with canyons and rock-strewn sandy plateaus was just the beginning.
    Ashish finished a creditable 77th in the stage and also in General Classification of Rally2 bikes. The Xraids Experience rider clocked 7 hours, 50 minutes and 08 seconds. The indian is supported by Rynox Gear, Reise tyres and DosMoto design. The technical and maintenance support comes from SlipStream Performance, while spares and accessories partners are Motousher, BigBad Bikes, Lazyass Bikers and MX store.

    Jatin Jain – Bikes Rally2 class

    Indore’s Jatin Jain is on his maiden Dakar and he did well to complete the first full section. He finished 111th in the classification and was bogged down by a penalty. He is riding with team Desert Storm Racing. He is riding a Kove 450 Rally bike and service is provided by XRaids Experience team. He is supported by Vamsi Merla in his quest for Dakar through VM Sports Foundation, and also has Rynox as one of his supporters.

    RIDER FACTS… (Jatin Jain)

    • Jatin Jain’s passion for motorbikes and rallying has taken over his everyday life. After working and founding several businesses, Jatin Jain has fully focused on his passion with the firm intention of competing in off-road rallies for the next 15 years.
    • The Indian from Indore started racing on home soil some 20 years ago and started with motocross and supercross. To date he has over 200 podium finishes.
    • Cross-country rallying wasn’t really an addiction, but he was pushed by CS Santosh, the first Indian to finish the Dakar in 2015 to give it a go despite not really liking the navigation side. Bit he eventually decided to switch to the discipline.
    • After competing and gaining experience on rallies like the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, the Sonora Rally or the Desfaio Ruta 40 in Argentina, it’s now time for the big one for the 46-year-old rider who will be starting the Dakar on a Kove.
    • Not too worried about the difficulty of such a demanding rally, the main concern for this father of two based in Nagpur is food. Jain is indeed a pure vegetarian and might come with his own food from India just to make sure that he has everything he needs to be as efficient as possible on the bike.
  • Harith Noah overcomes a nasty fall to finish P12

    Harith Noah overcomes a nasty fall to finish P12

    Grandola (Portugal), 3 April 2024: Ace Indian rider and Dakar 2024 Rally2 winner, Harith Noah of Kerala, managed a tough day and overcame a nasty fall to finish Day 1 in the BP Ultimate Rally Raid Portugal stage 1 successfully on Wednesday. Despite the fall and a technical issue, the Sherco TVS Rally Factory team rider finished overall 12th and 5th in Rally2 class.

    “A technical problem in the prologue followed by a crash in stage 1, but I am healthy and ready for tomorrow. Although in terms of km it wasn’t much, it felt like a long day separated into the prologue, first part of stage 1 and second part. A lot of water puddle and very wet areas made it difficult. Learned a lot and feel a little more calm for tomorrow…,” said Noah after the 100km first stage.

    Jatin Jain the other Indian also completed the tough Day 1 after he struggled with his bike and finished Overall 55 and P32 in Rally2 class.

    After setting the fastest time in the morning Prologue, Tosha Schareina (Honda) claimed victory in the inaugural stage of the bp Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal, just ahead of compatriot Lorenzo Santolino (Sherco). António Maio (Yamaha) will head into the second day as the leading Portuguese contender.

    Tosha Schairena leads Day 1
    Tosha Schairena, a rider for Honda’s official team led by Ruben Faria, made a triumphant return to competition and kicked off the bp Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal in stellar fashion. The Valencia-based rider admitted, “The start was quite tough, with the sandy sections where I encountered quite a few difficulties. Then, the terrain hardened, and I pushed harder. Despite some minor errors, overall things went well, and the strategy of starting further back proved to be correct.”

    Also familiar with the course characteristics, compatriot Lorenzo Santolino (Sherco) was one of the standouts of the day, finishing the stage in second position, just ahead of American Honda rider Skyler Howes.

    António Maio (Yamaha) showcased an impressive performance, being the fourth fastest of the stage and the best among the Portuguese riders, with the GNR (National Republican Guard) soldier stating, “The course was a bit different from what I was expecting, but it was enjoyable. I didn’t make any navigation errors, and it was important to finish the first day with good sensations.”

    Chilean Pablo Quintanilla (Honda) secured the fifth position, ahead of Sebastien Bühler (Hero). The Portuguese-German, residing in the village of Relíquias, approximately 80 km from Grândola, expressed satisfaction at the end of the first 100 timed kilometers: “I enjoyed the course quite a lot, and the only issue I had was having to backtrack two or three times to ‘fetch’ the waypoints. But it was a good stage to start.”

    Despite being the fastest in the stage, benefiting from experience on similar terrains around his hometown (Durban, South Africa), a penalty pushed Bradley Cox to seventh place. Nevertheless, the KTM rider emphasized, “I really enjoyed riding here. It’s tough but fun, even when we encountered a lot of mud.”

    Portuguese rider Bruno Santos (Husqvarna) finished eighth overall and first in the Rally2 class, while Argentine Manuel Andújar set the fastest time among the Quads, with a 6m39s advantage over Lithuanian Antanas Kanopkinas.

    A single selective sector contested south of Grândola, spanning 193.04 kilometers, is the challenge that teams face in tomorrow’s stage (Wednesday), the second of the bp Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal. A course traversing the Alentejo cork oak forest, with some sandy sections.

  • Indians Harith Noah, Jatin Jain in fray; Hero Motosports’ Ross Branch leads RallyGP

    Indians Harith Noah, Jatin Jain in fray; Hero Motosports’ Ross Branch leads RallyGP

    Grandola (Portugal), 3 April 2024: Scrutineering for the inaugural edition of the BP Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal wound to a close in Grândola on Tuesday. The 55 vehicles in the W2RC field (out of 148 FIA/FIM vehicles in the race) were cleared to start the race on Wednesday morning.

    Among the 27 motorbikes and quads on the FIM start list, will be two Indians, Harith Noah of Sherco, the Rally2 class winner of 2024 Dakar and Jatin Jain, a Kove rider. Besides, the Indian manufacturer, Hero MotoSports, will have the leader of the Rally GP competition, Ross Branch, who will feel the heat from Adrien Van Beveren (Monster Energy Honda), his closest pursuer at only 26 points back.

    Jatin Jain

    The popular Indian with the Supercross fraternity is a two-time National 2-wheeler rally champion in 2018 and 2019, and multiple times Supercross champion in different categories. Before this, he completed the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, the second round of the W2RC on his Kove 450 Rally Pro. The Nagpur rider made his international debut in 2020 in the Hispania rally in Spain with a creditable fifth place in his class, and also took part in the Abu Dhabi Baja in 2023. But despite his best preparations, the privateer could not raise the sponsorship to take part in Dakar 2024.

    Among the 28 FIA crews in the W2RC, Carlos Sainz (Mini JCW) holds the championship lead by just 9 points over Nasser Al Attiyah (Nasser Racing by Prodrive) and 12 over Guerlain Chicherit (Overdrive Racing).

    Tomorrow, in a historic first for the W2RC, the prologue and stage 1 will be held on the same day, taking the competitors from Grândola to Santiago do Cacém and back. There will be live coverage of the finish.

    The list of 169 entrants in the BP Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal includes competitors from 30 different nationalities, a fact that reveals the global nature of the Automóvel Club de Portugal event.

    As you might expect, the debut of the World Rally-Raid Championship in Portugal has attracted competitors from all over the world, who will be concentrating next week on Grândola and the trails of the Alentejo, Ribatejo and Spanish Extremadura.

    The impressive list of 169 entries for the car, motorcycle and quad races has competitors from 30 different countries: in addition to Portugal, also South Africa, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Belgium, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Czechia, Chile, Ecuador, Slovakia, Spain, United States of America, France, Great Britain, Hungary, India, Israel, Italy, Lebanon, Lithuania, Norway, Netherlands, Poland, Qatar, Kyrgyzstan, Seychelles and Switzerland are represented.

    The pride of a nation

    In motorcycles, World Rally-Raid leader Ross Branch is one of Botswana’s rare representatives in motorsport at the highest level. Branch represents an Indian manufacturer, Hero, and bikers from that Asian giant are also starting to emerge, such as Harith Noah, an official Sherco rider, or Jatin Jain, who rides for a Chinese brand, Kove.

    The Sunshine After The Rain

    The route of the rally had to be tweaked due to the unseasonal rains that drenched its host regions last week, but its overall character remains very much the same. In the end, the FIM race will stretch for 1,735 km and its FIA counterpart for 1,866 km, with 1,039 km of specials for both. The start will be hectic!

    In a historic first for the W2RC, the prologue and stage 1 will be held on the same day. The first competitors will get the prologue going just 15 minutes after the sun peeks over the horizon. After that, they will set out to tame the 100 km special 1 before noon. The entire field will be brought together shortly before the finish line to provide live coverage of the last 3 km. The final sprint will be broadcast for the first time on Sport TV, the broadcaster of the premier sports events held in Portugal. Live footage with expert commentary will also be streamed on W2RC social media for the rest of the world. Tune in tomorrow at 3:25 pm (UTC+1) for the motorbike finish and 5 pm (UTC+1) for the car finish on YouTube W2RC or Facebook W2RC pages.

  • Rajendra, Jatin Jain win their classes: 5th round INRC for 2w

    Mangaluru, 2 Dec 2019: The following riders won their respective classes in the fifth round of the MRF Mogrip Indian National Rally Championship for 2-wheelers 2019 which concluded near here today. The sixth and final round will be held in Bengaluru.

    In the Super Bike Pro Experts Category, Rajendra RE of TVS Racing dominated the proceedings astride his RTR 200 for a comfortable win with over 7 minutes lead against second-place Nikhil Balakrishna.

    In Super Bike (Expert) class Group A, Jatin Jain managed to beat Vishwas SD and Badal S Doshi of Mumbai to assure himself of the Championship title taking the top step on the podium.

    Provisional final Results: (Organisers and FMSCI failed to provide the results to the Media on time, timings will be updated as and when received)

    GROUP A

    Class 1 – Super Bike (Pro Expert): 1. Rajendra RE; 2. Nikhil Balakrishna.

    Class 1A – Super Bike (Expert): 1. Jatin Jain; 2. Vishwas SD; 3. Badal S Doshi.

    GROUP B

    Class 2 – Super Sport 130: 1. Nitesh G Poojary; 2. M Srikanth; 3. Hari Krishnan KS.

    Class 3 – Super Sport 165: 1. Ishan Chandra; 2. Arshad Ali; 3. Francis PV.

    Class 4 – Super Sport 260: 1. Imran Pasha; 2. Samuel Shajan Jacob; 3. Adnaan Ahmed.

    Class 5 – Super Sport 400: 1. Sudeep Kottary; 2. Karthikeyan Dhanabal; 3. KN Rohan.

    Class 6 – Super Sport 550: 1. Suhail Ahmed; 2. Arun Joy M; 3. Aneesh CK.

    Class 7 – S0 to S3 Scooters upto 210cc (S0 to S3): 1. Syed Asif Ali; 2. Shamim Islam Khan; 3. Pinkesh Kishor Thakkar.

    Class 8 – Ladies Class (Open Indian Motorcycles): 1. Aishwarya PM; 2. Dimpy A;

    Class 9 – Star of Karnataka – 2/4 Stroke Motorcycles up to 210cc: 1. Rohith RS; 2. Shoeb M Khan; 3. Durgesh J.

    ends