Sherco-TVS, French Indian racing team, has choosen Aravind KP to be one of their riders for the Dakar 2016 rally. This is going to be the third year of participation for the Sherco-TVS team in the Dakar Rally, and the Aravind would become the second Indian to take part in the Dakar rally, after CS Santosh. Aravind would be joined by Juan Pedrero – a previous Spanish champion with the team – and a as-of-yet-unannounced third European rider.
Aravind KP is not new to racing or motocross, since he has been with TVS racing for the better of 10 years now, and has won multiple national and international dirt and motocross championships. Aravind and the others will be riding the 2016 RTR 450 racing model, for this edition of the Dakar Rally, a cross-country endurance motorcycle with a liquid cooled 450cc engine producing around 60 bhp. The bike is developed and manufactured by their French partner, Sherco, which specializes in making dirt and trail bikes. Some other interesting bits – there are two fuel tanks, one up front and one at the back, to even out the weight distribution; Akrapovic exhaust headers and titanium mufflers; six-speed sequential gearbox and a low kerb weight of around 135 kg.
Calling it the ‘Dakar’ rally is a bit of a misnomer these days, since the rally ends thousands kilometres away from Dakar. Now in its 38th Edition, the rally winds its way through Bolivia, Paraguay and Argentina and ends in Buenos Aires.
