This season of World Rally Raid Championship started on a bitter-sweet note for our Indian Knight Jatin Jain. Jain successfully completed the second round of the Championship at the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge this February. “The challenge lived upto the word ‘challenge’ in its name. It was a truly exhilarating experience”, says Jain, who is a two-times National Rally Champion and multiple times Supercross Champion of India.
ADDC, succeeding the notorious Dakar on the W2RC calendar, is an equally daunting race. Held in the expansive Liwa desert of Abu Dhabi, the race takes competitors through kilometres of never-ending dunes, only to end up all tired, broken and bruised at the Bivouac. The challenge is held over the course of five days, with stages stretching over 200 kms of specials each day. Terrain is largely all sand and dunes, interspersed with fast rocky sections.
For our hero, the race was a tough going from the very beginning. Riding the Kove 450 Rally Pro, a bike with beautiful suspension setup but yet unproven rally capabilities, Jain faced challenges from the very start of the race. No doubts riding a bike that’s 3 times your weight and twice your height is no easy feat.
Jain, who has previously conquered the equally tenacious terrain of the Sonora Rally, and has precious experience of competing at the Abu Dhabi Baja Challenge, is no stranger to the world of dunes and sand.
Dunes of Mezeira’a are his backyard. However, his steed presented him with unique challenges. A person with a petite stature as his would never attempt the race on a tall hefty bike like the Kove, but our hero always takes the leap of faith. Having gotten less than 10 days of practice with a brand new bike, Jain climbed into the Rally 2 category with bravado.
We scrambled to get a few words with him as he is found nursing multiple bruises at the Day 5 bivouac. He tells of the experience with a feeling that’s equal parts joy and exhaustion.…
“Stages were challenging however I was determined not to give-up. I had decided that first day I will focus on the roadbook and ensure that I collect no penalties on missed waypoints and I stuck to that strategy. From Day 2 onwards, I was more comfortable and started catching up pace. Day 3 I had a massive crash just as I was about to reach the crest of a 100 ft. Dune that stalled my bike. I am awed by the spirit of the fellow racers in Abu Dhabi. A quad rider stopped to help me out. Together, we disassembled my exhaust, removed all sand and reassembled the machine to get going again.
Day 4 and 5 got the better of me. I was paining all over from the previous days’s injuries and was feeling low in the morning. My manager suggested to forego the stage for the day but I was wanting to experience the Empty Quarter of Rub’ al Khali. In hindsight, that was probably the best decision of life. I’m glad I could complete the race and got to see the finish line ”Jain is now preparing for the third round of the Championship which is the BP Ultimate Rally Raid in Portugal.
With next race less than a month away, our hero is back to preparations. “I’m yet to mechanically master this bike and it would be my focus as part of preparations for the next race.”, adds Jain.
Interviewed and captured by Ishita Gupta
