Dakar Rally 2019 To Be Flagged Off Tomorrow

It's the biggest rally of the year globally, the most challenging as well and it's all set to be flagged off tomorrow with two teams from India. Yes, it is the 2019 Dakar Rally we are talking about that will see the Sherco TVS Factory Team and the Hero MotoSport Rally Team battle it out across varying terrains against a host of other participants. The 41st edition of the Dakar rally will be hosted in Peru, South America and is being held in only one country for the first time. The rally will see participants cover 5000 km over 10 days between January 6-17, through some of the most treacherous regions, weather conditions and navigational challenges.

Representing India at the Dakar Rally 2019 are CS Santosh and Aravind KP from Hero and TVS respectively. While this will be Aravind's third outing in Dakar, Santosh is here for the fifth time and also holds the distinction of being the only Indian to have completed the gruelling rally. Aravind, meanwhile, had to withdraw in the previous editions after sustaining injuries. Joining CS at Hero are riders Joaquim Rodrigues and Oriol Mena. Rodrigues is a Dakar veteran while this is Mena's second outing in the rally. That said, Oriol proved to be quite the talent last year having secured seventh place overall and also the rookie of the year award. Rodrigues returns to Dakar after a sustaining a major injury last year, which put him out of action for over six months.

CS Santosh with Hero 450 RR Dakar bike

Meanwhile, at Sherco-TVS, the rider line-up is longer with Adrien Merge and Michael Metge as well as Lorenzo Santolino joining Aravind. This will be Michael and Lorenzo's first outing at Dakar with TVS. The 2019 Dakar Rally will have a total of 3000 km of racing divided between 10 special stages, where almost 70 per cent of the terrain will be covered in sand.

The rally will start in Peru's capital Lima on January 6 and pass through Pisco, San Juan de Marcona, Arequipa, Moquegua and Tacna before making its back to Lima. The Dakar rally had participants competing in cars, motorcycles, ATVs, buggies, and trucks. A total of 534 racers will compete this year of which 135 are women racers, which is also the highest participation of women in the rally ever.

Make sure to keep watching this space and our social media handles for all the updates on the 2019 Dakar Rally.