Joaquim Rodrigues Wins India Baja 2017

Portuguese Dakar Rally rider and Hero MotoSports Team Rally member Joaquim Rodrigues has won the India Baja 2017 with almost a lead of 25 minutes, followed by Aravind KP of the Sherco TVS team in second place. Bengaluru-based Abdul Wahid Tanveer of TVS Racing finished third with an approximate difference of 15 minutes, and now qualifies for an entry into the Dakar Rally 2018 to be held between Peru, Bolivia and Argentina with a prize worth 20,000 Euros. Twenty-six-year-old Tanveer also qualifies for the Merzouga Rally in Morocco in May this year.

(Joaquim Rodrigues in action at the India Baja 2017)

Joaquim Rodrigues, popularly known as J-Rod, made a strong start in the fifth stage on a hot morning in the Thar Desert of Rajasthan and ended the sixth stage with a world class display of riding to win the 2017 India Baja title, his first rally in India. This is also the first win for Hero MotoSports Team Rally since its inception last year.

Wolfgang Fischer, Team manager, HeroMotoSports Team Rally, said "It was a great experience to participate at the India BAJA. And we are thrilled to bring home the first victory for Hero MotoSports Team Rally. Hopefully, this will be a big step forward for us and the future of Indian motorsports. We would like to thank the organizers for putting up a great race and also for the cooperation extended to us. We also congratulate Tanveer for winning the Dakar Challenge and hopefully, we will see many more riders coming out of India in the future."

TVS Racing rider in action at India Baja 2017

Aravind KP made strong efforts to make a comeback after trailing J-Rod by 18 minutes on Day 1 but the difference proved to be too much for the Indian rider. Abdul Tanveer maintained a sustained run to ensure third position, beating his rival and team mate R Nataraj, who was in fourth position at the end of four stages of the rally.

In the Xtreme category, Raj Singh Rathore and Gaurav Chiripal battled neck and neck for the title, with Chiripal trailing by 1 minute at the end of the first four stages. Driving a modified Suzuki Grand Vitara, Gaurav Chiripal beat Raj Singh Rathore in the time trial in the last two stages of the rally, making it his first ever win in the India Baja rally. Gaurav Chiripal now gets a direct entry into the Maruti Suzuki Desert Storm rally next year as a result of this win. The third position went to Himanshu Arora driving a Maruti Suzuki Gypsy.