Exclusive: Ashish Raorane sets eyes on the Dakar Rally 

History was made when multiple Motocross and Supercross champion Santosh CS made his debut in one of toughest rallies on the planet, the Dakar. He was the first ever Indian to participate in the world famous motor rally.

TVS Racing's Arvind KP was the only Indian to complete the 2019 Dakar Rally as Santosh had a crash and had to retire from the rally.

Ashish Raorane has set his eyes on the next edition of the Dakar, the privateer is a familiar face in Indian rally circuit who made his International debut in 2018 Panafrica Rally and finished 18th overall.

The Pune based rallyist who is also a marine engineer speaks on his Motorcycle rallying journey so far, preparations for Dakar and more in an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda.

How do you strike a balance between work & rallies?

I work on 3 month contracts as the marine engineer and the next 3 months I train either on my Motorcycle or on physical fitness.

What are the challenges you faced as a privateer to enter International Rallies?

Sponsorship was the biggest challenge I faced, apart from that the entry procedure for the International rallies is very similar to the ones here.

The navigation in International rallies are very different from the Indian rallies, I trained in Spain to improve to my riding and navigation in particular. I'm happy that the Desert Storm has adapted the International format which should help the Indian riders get better with navigation in cross-country rallies.

Ashish Raorane - 2018 Panafrica Rally (Photo Credits: Kico Moncada)

Does age make a significant difference especially in your scenario as you made your racing debut in your early thirties?

Age does make a difference but definitely not a significant difference. It is all about keeping yourself fit and training hard on the motorcycle. Age might make a big difference in Motocross and Supercross where riders take massive jumps, perform back-flips etc.

A cross country rally is run over 7 days covering thousands of kilometers. It is very important to know where to push and where to hold back, long distance rallying is about endurance and not about going all out every single time, to understand this you will need to be a mature rider and maturity comes with age.

What's your most memorable moment?

Panafrica Rally '18 was my first International Rally, I did train well and was well prepared but in the end, it was a lot of learning and fighting hard every day throughout the rally.

It was unlike any other Indian rally for sure, on the last day I landed in a ditch on the desert and had to try 3 times before I could manage to get my bike off the soft sand.

Favorite Indian Rally?

Raid De Himalaya and Desert Storm, they both are very different from each other. The Raid is not just about speed but about survival in high altitude, freezing cold and the terrain whereas the Desert is about speed and navigation.

Scariest Moment?

Panafrica Rally in Morocco, the terrain is unlike any other rally in the world. I hit a water patch in a triple-digit speed. I was thrown off the bike with just my hand in contact with the handlebar and rest of my body in the air, it all happened in a fraction of a second.

I kept the throttle wide open and managed to settle on the bike.

Ashish is competing in the 2019 FIM World Bajas Championship. Ashish completed 22nd overall in the Round 1 at Dubai and 27th overall in the Round 2, the Baja do Pinhal at Portugal. Ashish will be taking part in the remaining two rounds of the Baja Championship and currently working on his sponsors and training for the 2021 Dakar.

FIM Baja World Championship Calendar

Round 3: Baja Aragon Spain 26-28 July

Round 4: Hungarian Baja 9-11 August