JEDDAH: The starting lines got marked and vehicles got busy as the
Dakar Rally
had a ceremonial start here on Saturday. The event begins from Sunday morning. The next 12 days will be a test for both the man and machine as the rally gets a new venue in the outskirts of the desert country. There will be sand, sweat, blood and may be some broken bones as the drama unfolds on this gruelling showpiece of motorbike and car racing.
Touching most of Saudi Arabia, the presence of two-time world F-1 racing champion
Fernando Alonso
in the car section and the performance of Indian motorbike riders will be watched keenly back home. Providing the Indian flavor will be the riders from
Hero MotoCorp
and Sherco TVS Rally Factory Team. The Hero Moto-Corp head Wolfgang Fischer is excited about his boys. "They are really talented and this will be the time for them to prove themselves at the top-most level of racing."
Talking about his most experienced Indian rider CS Santosh, Fischer believes that he is in the best of his fitness after coming back from an injury. He is hopeful that the side which has a best team effort of seventh can do better this time. "The problems are many like it's a new course and navigation can be tricky. Since they also have to race on a lot of sand, skill and endurance will be tested to the foremost."
Santosh, who has participated in six Dakar rallies, was himself quite upbeat about his chances. "I am hopeful of finishing the race and try to be there on the podium." Apart from Santosh, Hero are fielding three other strong racers - Paulo Goncalves (Portugal), Joaquim Rodrigues (Portugal) and Sebastian Buhler (Germany). The confident quartet posed in front of thousands of enthusiastic fans assembled in the beautiful setting of the Corniche area of Jeddah, facing the majestic Red Sea, on Saturday.
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