Ashish Raorane completes AB Desert Challenge, ready for Dakar 2024 campaign

The
rigorous
Desert
Challenge
saw
some
of
the
Dakar
veterans
racing
across
a
route
spanning
1,915kms
of
the
demanding
and
treacherous
terrain
amidst
the
sprawling
sand
dunes.

Competing
with
some
of
the
biggest
names
in
motorsports,
the
41-year-old,
conquered
the
international
cross-country
rally
astride
a
KTM
450
Rally
Factory
Replica
to
seal
his
entry
for
the
Dakar
2024.

Pumping
in
painkillers,
the
former
marine
engineer
successfully
completed
the
final
day’s
Stage
5
for
an
Overall
P20
among
49
participants
and
came
11th
in
his
class.
He
clocked
a
total
time
of
25:09.05.

“I
am
delighted
and
happy
that
the
Abu
Dhabi
Desert
Challenge
is
in
the
bag.
Going
in
I
knew
this
was
a
tough
and
very
physically-demanding
rally
and
I
am
happy
to
have
persevered
despite
the
multiple
challenges,”
said
Raorane,
who
is
supported
by
Rynox
Gears,
Dosmoto
Design,
Motousher,
Bigbadbikes
and
LazyAssBikers.

Riders
are
required
to
complete
at
least
one
FIM-sanctioned
World
Championship
race
or
other
rally
that
falls
under
the
“Road
to
Dakar”
label
and
completing
ADDC
clears
the
road
for
Raorane’s
Dakar
2024
participation.

“I
am
delighted
and
happy
that
the
Abu
Dhabi
Desert
Challenge
is
in
the
bag.
Going
in
I
knew
this
was
a
tough
and
very
physically-demanding
rally
and
I
am
happy
to
have
persevered
despite
the
multiple
challenges,”
said
Raorane,
who
is
supported
by
Rynox
Gears,
Dosmoto
Design,
Motousher,
Bigbadbikes
and
LazyAssBikers.

“The
meaningful
experience
gained
each
day
will
go
a
long
way
in
the
upcoming
rallies
as
well
as
our
Dakar
2024
campaign
and
the
result
has
certainly
boosted
my
confidence.

“Thank
you
to
all
the
fans
and
supporters
for
the
messages
over
the
last
week,
they
really
kept
me
going,”
said
the
KTM
rider,
who
gets
technical
support
from
Slipstream
Performance,
the
Indian
tuners
from
Pune.

To
give
back
to
motorsports,
he
also
founded
Off-Piste
Racing
and
trains
bikers
for
cross-country
rallying.
The
#34
team
‘Xraids
Experience’ rider
went
through
a
harrowing
time,
but
with
great
determination,
Raorane
came
back
strongly
every
day,
to
complete
the
daunting
rally.

He
suffered
the
fuel-range
anxiety
with
a
lost
front
fuel
tank
in
Stage
1
at
around
the
204-kms
mark
and
also
saw
the
air
bag
deployed
during
a
hard
landing
in
the
’empty
quarter’
and
ended
the
day’s
competitive
section
with
fumes
in
the
rear
fuel
tank.

The
next
day
in
Stage
2,
was
another
big
challenge
spotting
the
drop-offs.
The
Indian
was
caught
out
coming
off
a
dune
crest
and
“the
earth
below
suddenly
vanished”.

The
worst
was
on
Stage
3
on
March
1
and
it
looked
as
though
the
rally
ended
in
disappointment,
when
Raorane
suffered
a
massive
crash
and
ruptured
his
right
bicep
muscle
but
carried
on
for
another
160kms,
undaunted.

Despite
extreme
pain,
he
managed
to
finish
the
day’s
competitive
section.
Later,
Raorane
recovered
and
after
doctor’s
clearance,
he
came
back
next
day
stronger
and
despite
a
painful
arm,
completed
the
last
two
days
where
he
also
overcame
another
minor
fall
and
malfunctioning
of
his
Roadbook
roll.

An
adventure
travel
rider,
Raorane
had
claimed
a
podium
on
debut
in
the
Indian
National
Racing
Championship
(INRC)
round
at
Nashik
in
2015
and
soon
took
to
cross-country
rallies
like
a
duck
to
water.

He
took
part
in
the
almighty
Raid
de
Himalaya
and
many
other
bigger
national
and
international
events
including
polished
him
into
a
high-performance
Rally
Raid
athlete
that
laid
the
seed
for
his
Dakar
dream,
the
mother
of
all
rallies.

After
pioneer
CS
Santosh,
KP
Arvind
and
Harith
Noah
completed
Dakar,
Raorane,
became
the
fourth
Indian
to
complete
in
Dakar
Experience
class
in
2021.
The
dream
continues
next
January,
at
Dakar
2024.

Source:
Press
Release