EXCLUSIVE: Jatin Jain Speaks To ZigWheels About His Dakar 2025 Journey

We recently had a chance to catch up with Jatin Jain, one of the three Indians who raced at Dakar 2025. In this exclusive interview, Jatin gave us some insights into his journey to Dakar and also some advice for others who would like to take the leap into the world of rally riding. 

Jatin participated in the Dakar rally as a privateer, riding on a Kove 450 Rally and reached the 5th stage of Dakar 2025. His experience as a privateer was filled with many challenges, from getting sponsors, to riding in the heat, cold, and unforgiving terrain. Here’s what he had to say about this challenge.

As a privateer, what were the challenges that you faced in this journey? 

First thing is, for Dakar, as a privateer, you need to first qualify. Because for two years, they have made a new classification, a new rule for entry to Dakar. You need to ride certain rounds of the World Championship, gain some points, and collect enough from each rally. If you ride a Baja rally, you get 2 points, if you ride cross country, you get 6 points, like that. And once you total it, you will get a certain number of points, and then you have to apply.

And they take all the applications (from) around the world, and then they select the riders to come and participate in Dakar. And as a privateer, to go to one rally, it's okay, but to go to each rally, you have to spend more than (Rs) 15 lakh. So, money is a very big part, and then, because you have to find your own bike, you have to find service for the bike, the spare parts for the bike, and that too in a remote location where you don't know anything, everything is new.

Privateers who participate in the Dakar rally often end up spending a lot more from their own pockets, as compared to factory  riders. So it is very important to have sponsors who are willing to back you. And in Jatin’s case, he had a few who were willing to help him out. 

He said “Yeah, this Dakar, I got some sponsors, one was VM Motorsports, Mr Vamsy Merla, and T2Pathan bhai from Titu Sports. I had vowmotorsports, Indian Racing Bazaar, and Payback.

These were my sponsors, and it helped me a lot to reach there. And apart from this, I had factory support from Kove, which was the bike that I was riding. I had support for the parts, and some technical support during the rally if required, and it was good.”

What would your advice be for someone who wants to race at Dakar?

If you want to get to Dakar, it's like a three-year plan, what all rallies you will be going to, what all expenses you will be spending. You need to jot down everything, make a sheet of what expenses, and then you've got to know what you are putting from your pocket, what bike you are riding. In three years before the Dakar, will you change the bike, the parts, the tyres, the service, the qualification.

So, once you know that, and if it is easy, feasible, and you get sponsors, then you should definitely try for it. Because, if you are into rally racing, it's not that difficult to ride and finish Dakar.

But riding fast is just one part of the overall picture. Things like navigation and endurance also play a major role. Jatin had this to say: “But certain things are there to learn for rally, like navigation plays a big role. You need more stamina, a good bike to participate, and for sure, more and more practice.”

What did your training for the Dakar rally look like? What were you focusing on mostly? 

I was focusing more on endurance as well as riding in the sand and dunes. Every month, I used to go once to Dubai or Saudi to practice in the sand and the dunes. That was the very biggest part because the dunes there are very soft and big. And what you find in India, like the Jaisalmer area, are very small, not even 10% of what you ride in Dakar. 

But when it comes to the challenges, one of the biggest issues is the climate. In the desert the temperatures can drop as low as 1 to 2 degrees celsius, and rise as much as 50 degrees celsius. Preparing to deal with these challenges is key to performing well in Dakar. When we asked him about his preparation for the challenges he said, “Yeah, I was very well prepared to ride between 40 to 45 degree temperature.

But when I reached Dakar, it was almost like 2 degrees to 5 degrees with a lot of sandstorm and all that. So, that was a little difficult for one and two days. But then it was okay for me because when you ride early in the morning, it was too cold.

And once you start riding, then it's okay because till the end of the day, your body is already used to all that climate. So, the cold is what matters in the Dakar because sometimes it rains. So, you have to prepare everything so that you can get used to the temperature.”

What was your overall experience like after finishing?

“It was very very good and I am just waiting for the next year to come so that I can ride. And I know after going once, what all I was missing this year in my practice and training, which I will prepare for and I will try to give my best next year.” 

Jatin is also planning on going to Dakar 2026, and we asked him about his plans (along with what his game plan would be). He told us, “Next year, I have to perform better in my prologue so that I can find a good position to start from stage one. And this year, I had some issues like I had some falls. So, I will try to avoid all that so that I can maintain my pace throughout from day one till the finish.”

Overall, we are quite excited for Jatin and we wish him the best for the next rally. The team at ZigWheels will surely be cheering for him next year.

Image Source: @jatin_to_dakar_2025