Jatin Jain from India managed to finish 6th in his class and 27th in Rally2 at the BP Ultimate Rally Raid Portugal, the round3 of the World Rally Championship. Overnight and continuous rain had made the surface bad to worse, as few places were completely water logged and negotiating these was too challenging, but finished the day one in 7th position, in the 8th km in the stage1 his vehicle was stuck in water and took 3hrs to pull the bike out of the stage. Day two also he remained in same position. On day three he improved his placing by two positions up and ended the day in 5th position, on day 4 once again slided down to 6th position. Final day he rose up to fourth and ran out of luck as midway on the stage his battery was dead had to barrow it from one of the spectator and carry forward, thus lost the position he gained and once again slided down to finish 6th in the Vet class.
"If I am to sum up my experience at the BP Ultimate Rally Raid Portugal in one word, it would be “Bombastic!” What a fantastic experience it was. From the very beginning I had decided I would be riding this rally Malle Moto style. But I never expected, even in my wildest dreams, that I would get so much support and warmth from the people of Portugal. Big shout out to the entire people of Grandola, who were so welcoming and helpful. Right from salvaging my drowned bike from a slush pit to jump start my dead battery, they saved me from the all the moments where my race could have easily come to an end.
The terrain had become challenging due to ensuing rains and it was mud and slush everywhere. Nearly every day I was knee deep into slush by the time I reached the finish. First two days were challenging due to technical issues caused due to rains. On day 3 we had to cross the border and reach Badajoz in Spain after a tiring and long stage. My tyres had run completely bald by the end and having no service meant I had to ride with them for the next stage too. I am glad I could complete the stage successfully with zero traction tyres. All in all, the experience was awesome and gave me immense learning and confidence to ride without a service team." said Jatin Jain
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