Aravind KP's Dakar Rally debut

India’s representation among the list of Dakar competitors will double this year. We sat down with Aravind KP to see how his preparations for the big dance are going.

From when I started asking him about preparing for his very first Dakar Rally and the training involved for it, it became hard to tell whether the wry smile and laugh from Aravind KP were signs of his excitement for the event or nervous recognition of the challenge that lay ahead. My guess is that it was a bit of both!

With around 9,000 kilometers total and just over 4,000 of those being timed special stages, this year’s Dakar promises a lot of challenges with the route going through Paraguay and Bolivia before the end of the event in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Along the way will be stages that will see participants cover as much as 750 kms in a single day. And Aravind will have to do that on two wheels, with no one to navigate but himself. The wry smile and laugh return as he mentions the ‘marathon stage’. It’s definitely more extreme than anything the 31-year-old will have to tackle but he has the right approach and set-up behind him to ensure that his Dakar debut goes as smoothly as it can given his inexperience at that stage.

TRAINING HARD

“There has been a lot of riding and roadbook training in Spain and France of course,” Aravind told autoX. “That has continued here too with riding at the factory and even on some routes I know in Mangalore and just prior to going I plan on training for ten days in Rajasthan as well.”

Of course, with a monster event like the Dakar comes monster distances and duration while training. Think of how a boxer will prepare for a fight by going far more rounds than in the actual fight.

“Many times the distances we will cover will be more than a marathon stage,” said Aravind. “So if I am training Enduro, I will ride for around six hours a day.

“When road-book training, depending on what kind of stage it is and its navigational challenges, we can go anywhere from eight to thirteen hours a day. Thanks to the climate in Spain there is enough sunlight for my day to start early and end really late. So we can easily clock up ten to eleven hours of seat time on the bike in a day if we wanted to.”

There are different bikes that will train different aspects of a rider. From a motocross bike that delivers a lot of power suddenly across its rev band, to an enduro bike that will be geared for more reliability and to give a rider more “mellow” power delivery – as Aravind describes it – until you reach the upper reaches of the tachometer. A motocross bike will be tool with which a rider would work on his reactions and speed whereas an enduro bike would be better suited to going the distance. All of this builds up to the TVS-Sherco 450cc Dakar bike that has around 64bhp (twice the power of a typical enduro bike) and an even more mellow power delivery until you get to the mid and top range of its engine. Enough to remind a rider to not do something silly with the throttle. Aravind claims this wasn’t much of a problem when he first got acquainted with the Dakar bike in competition during the OiLibya Rally where he finished a creditable 26th overall in the moto/quad class. “I was surprised by how well it handled,” said Aravind. “The terrain in Morocco was really tough but the suspension was great, which is the best scenario for motorsport as it means you don’t need a lot more power to be competitive.”

KEEPING FIT

Of course, it isn’t just about the machine in motorsport. In a world where robot races and e-racing get attention it is important to remember that riders and drivers are athletes who put their bodies through extreme duress to follow their heart. Aravind is no different. In fact, he was a track and field athlete during school and reached the level of national competition in swimming. It’s been a long time since motocross seduced him away from leg-power though, and Aravind’s fitness needs have changed for the Dakar. “I’m having a lot of carbs as we won’t get more than two meals a day there,” he said. “So I’m going to go the Dakar all plump and if I make it to the end, I will be shaped into an athlete!” Here’s hoping the experience also shapes him into a Dakar finisher too.