The 16th edition of the much anticipated 2018 Maruti Suzuki Desert Storm was flagged off from The Great India Place, Noida. This year will witness participation of over 250 motorsport. Participating across four categories – XTreme, NDure, Xplore and Moto – the rallyists will be challenging the terrains of Thar Desert with temperatures as high as 40°C. The journey begins with rally moving to Bikaner for Leg 1.
In its 16th edition, the rally is set to explore new terrains, covering a total distance of 2,300 kms. The rallyists will be navigating through Rajasthan’s picturesque landscape over a span of six days, traversing through Bikaner and finally concluding in Jaisalmer on March 23, 2018. The highlight being the longest night leg covering a distance of 160 kms in Jaisalmer.
The rally will see six times champion, Suresh Rana representing Team Maruti Suzuki Motorsport in the Xtreme category battling for the title again with over 50 tough competitors. Vitara Brezza and S Cross is also set to make its debut in the Xtreme category, CS Santosh, R Nataraj are betting big in the Moto category, along with another 48 bikers.
A strong women contingent is also a part of Maruti Suzuki Desert Storm with over 12 women participating across categories, with presence of renowned rallyists like Aishwarya Pissay, Shuchi Thakur over others.