Desert Storm 2019: Aabhishek Mishra, Adrian Metge Strengthen Lead; Gaurav Gill Drops To P8 On Day 3

The third day of the 2019 Desert Storm saw a number of drivers move up the order while several fan favourites struggling to keep pace during the lengthy stage. Cementing his lead from yesterday, Aabhishek Mishra with co-driver Srikanth Gowda of Team Sparky Garage held on to the lead in the Xtreme category finishing Special Stage 6 (SS6) in 02h49m49s driving the Maruti Suzuki Vitara. Meanwhile, Samrat Yadav with co-driver Kunal Kashyap moved up the leaderboard to finish the day in second place in 03h00m44s. Mishra's teammate Capt. AVS Gill with Diwakar Kalia finished the day in third place 03h03m01s, solidifying the team's position in the rally.

Lhapka Tsering and co-driver V Venu Rameshkumar showed tremendous progress over the day to finish at P4 and posted one of the best times completing SS6 in just 02h53m46s. It wasn't the best day for APRC champion Gaurav Gill with co-driver Musa Sherif of Team Mahindra pushed down to P8 taking 04h09m26s to complete the stage.

The Moto category in the 2019 Desert Storm continues to be dominated by TVS Racing's Adrien Metge. The Frenchman retained his lead with a total time of 05h16m49s, but coming in a very close second was Hero MotoSports rider CS Santosh just six minutes of the race leader. Santosh was also the fastest through SS6 with a time of 02h44m30s, helping him narrow the gap over Metge, who completed the stage in 02h46m40s.

Adrien Metge said, "The marathon stage has been the toughest so far in the rally with complex navigation and blazing heat. I found good momentum early and looked to maneuver the bike smoothly in the landscape. Tomorrow is the final day of the rally and will be a short stage so it is important for me to stay in the lead and win it for the team. "

Commenting on his performance, CS Santosh said, "This is my first race after the Dakar so I was a bit rusty on the first day. I've finally started to enjoy being back and racing here in Rajasthan. Today was a better day for me; I rode really well," CS Santosh remarked after his rise. Metge is an incredible rider. But I'm trying my best and I feel I'm pretty much there. I've lost the Desert Storm in the last three years while being on the top of the table. So, I know anything can happen here. Tomorrow is a long day because it starts with a 190 km stage; I'm looking forward to perform my best in that stage."

Coming in third overall was TVS' Abdul Wahid Tanveer who was also faster than Metge during SS6 and recorded the fastest time of 02h45m56s. TVS' R Nataraj finished in fourth place, while teammate   Rajendra RE has retained his ranking at P5. After a promising start in the rally, TVS Racing's Aishwarya Pissay, who had broken into top 10 yesterday, could not start the stage due to a technical issue.

With temperatures over 50 degrees Celsius, the rally saw eight more bikers and four drivers in the Xtreme category retiring at the end of Day 3. Tomorrow will be the final leg of the rally, which will include 220 km in the sand dunes of Jaisalmer.



from NDTV CarAndBike - Latest News

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Harley-Davidson Streetfighter Spotted In Flesh For The First Time

Image
Harley-Davidson unveiled a range of new motorcycles last year that included an adventure tourer, streetfighter and Custom range. This, along with the LiveWire electric motorcycle defines the new-age 21st century offerings from the manufacturer as it taps into newer markets and caters to an evolving customer base. Now, giving a glimpse of the new models out in the open, the new Harley-Davidson Streetfighter was spotted in the prototype version at what seems to be a trade show in the US, giving a good glimpse at motorcycle looks like in flesh. While board says 'Styling Prototype', the production-spec version of the Streetfighter is likely to stay identical to the model showcased here. In addition to the Streetfighter, the Pan America was also showcased at the same event. The production spec versions of both bikes could be unveiled at EICMA this year. Also Read: Harley-Davidson Livewire To Be Unveiled In India In August The Harley-Davidson Streetfighter is a completely new mot...
Read more

Brixton 1200 To Rival Triumph Bonneville T120

Image
A 1200 cc modern classic with similar design lines as Triumph's iconic Bonneville series, has reportedly been cleared for production. The bike was showcased as a concept at last year's EICMA motorcycle show, and from the looks of it, this is a model developed in China with the Triumph Bonneville T120 in its sights. The Brixton brand though is part of Austria's KSR Group, which imports bikes from several Chinese manufacturers, including CF Moto. And while the new Bonneville rival will be manufactured in China, the design and engineering has been created at KSR's design centre in Krups, Austria. Also Read: Triumph Bonnville T120 First Ride Review The Brixton 1200 cc motorcycle has not been named yet, or a launch timeline announced So far, the company has not committed to a launch date yet, but says that it will eventually make it to production. And from the looks of it, that may well be sometime later this year, maybe even at the EICMA 2020 show in Milan, Italy, in...
Read more

Zongshen Cyclone RX6 Based On Norton 650 Nearing Completion

Image
While there still doesn't seem to be a buyer for iconic British brand Norton Motorcycles which went into administration in January this year, the firm's 650 cc parallel-twin seems to be finding life in China. While Norton apparently sold off the engine rights of its 961 engine to China's Jinglang just before the brand went into administration, the deal for the 650 cc engine was finalized way back in 2017 with Chinese giant Zongshen. The 650 cc parallel-twin engine was due to be used in Norton's Atlas and Superlight models, but now it looks like that engine platform will make its debut in a Zongshen motorcycle, called the Cyclone R6. Also Read: How Much Is Norton Motorcycles Worth Now? One of the patent designs shows the Cyclone RX6 with full touring accessories and luggage Two prototypes fitted with the 650 cc parallel-twin engine were shown in China late last year, on the Zongshen Cyclone RX6 adventure bike and the RX6 sport tourer. Both bikes used Zongshen-made...
Read more