TVS Racing’s Aravind KP to ride in Dakar Rally 2017

TVS Racing has announced that Bangalore-based Aravind KP will compete for the ‘Sherco-TVS Rally Factory’ team at Dakar Rally 2017. Aravind has been a part of the TVS Racing team for a decade and this will mark his debut in the world’s toughest cross-country rally.

Aravind will team up with Juan Pedrero, a Spanish champion, for Sherco-TVS Rally factory team at the Dakar Rally 2017. The third rallyist, a European rider, will be announced at a later stage. Since 2006, Aravind has won 15 national championships in dirt track, rallies and motocross and in 2011 he became the first Indian to win an overseas motocross championship in Sri Lanka.

Commenting on his selection for the Dakar Rally, Aravind said, “It’s quite an unbelievable felling to be selected to race at the Dakar Rally and I couldn’t ask for a better team than Sherco-TVS Rally Factory. The next few months of preparation with the crew will be crucial as I train on what it takes to participate in Dakar Rally 2017.”

Arvind Pangaonkar, head of team TVS Racing, said, “Dakar Rally is the epitome of high endurance and we are happy to announce that Aravind KP will be part of the team this year. Aravind has been riding for us for the past 10 years and seeing his skills and performance, racing at Dakar was just a matter of time. Our partner Sherco is equally excited about having an Indian rider on the board and is geared up to give him the best training in both navigation and riding in sand dunes for the rally.”

The Sherco TVS Racing Team will, for a third year in a row, participate in the Dakar Rally, considered to be one of the most extreme motorsport events in the world. The arduous rally runs through three countries – Paraguay, Argentina and Bolivia – covering a distance of around 9,000km.

The 2017 Dakar Rally will also witness participation from a second Indian two-wheeler manufacturer – Hero MotoCorp. The world’s largest manufacturer of two-wheelers has announced its foray into motorcycle rallying with a strategic partnership with Speedbrain GmbH, a German off-road racing team. For the Dakar, Hero MotoCorp has signed on CS Santosh, who became the first Indian to participate in and complete the grueling race in 2015, as well as Joaquim Rodrigues, a Portuguese motocross and super-cross factory rider.