- Conducted over the weekend in Thar desert
- Sherco TVS secures first and third positions
- CS Santosh hit with penalty, drops to 2nd
Lorenzo Santolino has secured a win at the India Baja 2018 endurance rally. The rally was conducted between 17 August and 19 August at the Thar desert in Rajasthan.
This was Lorenzo’s second rally outing in India. Racing for Sherco TVS Rally factory team, Lorenzo was actually trailing behind CS Santosh by five minutes before the final stage. However, Santosh, riding a Hero Speedbrain 450RR bike, was hit with a 30-minute penalty for missing a pass. Santosh eventually finished second, over 24 minutes behind Lorenzo. Sherco TVS’ Abdul Wahid Tanveer finished third.
A 'Road to Dakar' challenge, this was the third edition India Baja rally. The cross country rally spanned over 400 kilometres in special stages along with 150 kilometres of transport stages. Conducted in the Thar desert, it posed formidable challenges like soaring temperatures, treacherous dune crossings and fast yet technical gravel straights. Having secured the win, Lorenzo has now scored a direct entry to the 2019 Dakar Rally.
