The 2018 Desert Storm was flagged off on 18 March in Noida with the Leg 1 Stage 1 of the rally beginning in the second half of 19th near Noorsar, Rajasthan.
Participants covered around 41 kms of unpleasantly rough desert terrain to Kelan. Stage 2 of the rally consisted of a 45 km night-time course from Motigarh to Rajasar. Hero Motocorp rider and Dakar finalist CS Santosh gained first place with a six-minute lead (1:10:44) over Aaron Mate from Angata Racing. Three minutes later his team mate Sanjay Kumar crossed the finish line with a time of 1:19:39.
TVS Racing's Tanveer Abdul Wahid and Rajendra RE clinched fourth and fifth respectively. Meanwhile, last year's Moto category winner, R Nataraj placed sixth in Leg 1 with a time of 1:32:43. On the other hand, Aishwarya Pissay did not finish Leg 1 as she faced technical difficulties during her first night time rally.
The 2018 Desert Storm which includes both cars as well as motorcycles will be conducted over the next three days in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan. Stay tuned for updates.
