The other day, I was watching some videos of the Dakar rally, the Baja 1,000, and the Rain Forest Challenge. These are really tough rallies that challenge the limits of man and machine to the maximum. Over the years, these events have grown in stature and are considered benchmarks as far as rallies go – of course, the Rain Forest Challenge is a different ball game altogether. The Dakar is the Holy Grail of rallies. Participation is a matter of honour, and it calls for huge investment. It also serves as a testing ground for both two and four wheel manufacturers. The adage, ‘Race on Sunday, sell on Monday,’ still holds true. I dare say that we have a couple of rallies of our own that test the endurance level of the participants – the Raid De Himalaya and Desert Storm immediately come to mind. And, later this year, we should get our very own Rain Forest Challenge. Any Indian rally driver or rider worth his salt wants Raid stickers on his vehicle. When they have it, they flaunt it – and why not? It’s almost a must do! The Raid has only gotten bigger and tougher over the years, but, somehow, it still can’t entice manufacturers and the big names from the world of rallying to participate. Of course, there are overseas participants – but they are a microscopic minority. Certainly, there are those who say that the overseas participation is the beginning of bigger and better things (I sure hope so). But the Raid has been around for a number of years now, and it could certainly do with much better coverage – both in print and in the electronic media. This would certainly help attract more participants. The television coverage of the Dakar and Baja 1000 is mind blowing. Images come from helicopters chasing motorcyclists at over 170km/h on beaches and rocks, and through forests. Equally, images of cars, bikes, ATV’s, and trucks attacking the dunes and kicking up sand miles in the sky – images that get the adrenaline pumping for those arm chain enthusiasts who follow each and every stage on TV or on the internet. The winners of these events are Demi Gods in the world of rallying. The routes of the Raid de Himalaya and Desert Storm pass through some of the most spectacular settings that you’ll see anywhere in the world – through snow covered mountain passes in the higher Himalayas with impossibly blue skies, traversing various river crossings, over high dunes and via small nomadic villages. But the enthusiasts never get to see them stage-by-stage. There are no daily telecasts. The telecasts beam eventually days after the rally is over, and that too in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it format. I wonder how many enthusiasts know the names of the winners of the last two Raids or Desert Storms? In this age of connectivity and high technology, I’m sure that telecasts of the Raid and Storm, on the lines of the Dakar, is not impossible. It’ll cost a lot of money, yes, but it’ll also attract a whole lot of eyeballs. But, we also need to ‘educate’ our sports channel guys that there are many sports that are played without a bat and a ball, and motorsports is one of them. The men and women piloting these machines are way cooler than Dhoni & Co put together many times over!
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