JATIN Jain of Nagpur became the first Indian to complete the Sonora Rally, held in the pristine Sonora desert of Mexico. According to Mehernosh Mavalwala, President Vidarbha Automotive Racing Association (VARA), Jain competed in the Nationals (Moto) Road to Dakar category, paving way for budding rally racers in India to reach the Dakar Rally. He chose a stock suspension Husqvarna 501, finishing sixth in the National Enduro Class, making it an impressive show for India.The 6-day rally consisted of a Prologue and five special stages, seeing competitors covering more than 2400 kms with at least 1200 kms of selective selections, that took them from Hermosillo to the border city of San Luis Rio Colorado, along the coast of the Cortez sea.

Jatin has conquered many rallies on the Indian scene, notable ones being Desert Storm, India’s own version of a cross country rally, held in the sands of the Thar, Dakshin Dare, Rally of Himalayas and Raid De Himalaya, to name a few. Jain has made his name in the Indian National Rally Championships and Supercross Championship as well. The Sonora Rally marks the 3rd Round of FIM World Rally Raid Championship 2023 (W2RC).

“The stages were long and temperatures soared up to 40 degrees during the day. We started Day Six in the morning and reached the Bivouac by 5 pm. Every stage came with its own surprises making it impossible to hold the throttle, to bend handle bars and ruts made by the cars who had passed earlier, it was a test of both endurance and skill which I managed to pass,” said Jain.