Suzuki wins Indian Baja with CS Santosh! The inaugural edition of the Indian Baja was won by Ace Indian Rallyist CS Santosh on his Suzuki RMX450Z with a lead of a little under an hour!
Suzuki Motorcycle India Private Limited (SMIPL), began its off-road adventures this year on a high note, taking top spot in the Moto and third overall on the Quad at the inaugural India Baja 2016!
Baja, one of the most popular forms of off-road racing, involves 24 hours of racing on dirt tracks measuring more than 300 kilometres and poses the additional challenge of night racing, which changes the nature of the game significantly.
India’s top rally-raid rider, CS Santosh, piloted his Suzuki RMX450Z to deliver an incredible performance to win the Moto category of India Baja by a massive margin of over 58 minutes.
CS Santosh on his win,
“Winning the first ever Baja to be held in the country is a perfect way to start the new year! Winning it on a brand-new Suzuki RMX450Z straight out of the crate makes it even more special for me. The 2016 model is a flawless machine with great handling and an amazing top speed,”
“I feel that this form of off-road racing has huge potential in a country like India because it’s very competitor friendly and does not put too much strain on the resources of the participants. I hope this format of off-road racing grows in the country,”.
Earlier this year CS Santosh had participated in the 2016 Dakar Rally, but due to technical issues he was unable to complete it.
To add to that, Santosh’s team partner Joshua Pramod took his Suzuki Quadsport Z400 to finish third in the Overall Time classification as well!
Joshua Pramod –
“I have never been on an ATV in my life, and the first time I sat on the Suzuki Quadsport Z400 was literally at the start line! Basic training from Suzuki officials and guidance from CS Santosh got me started and then the trust and confidence in the Suzuki kept me going! The Quadsport Z400 has an amazing motor, is responsive like a motorcycle and comfortable as well. I’d love to compete again with a bit more preparation next time!”
The Quadsport Z400 is the ideal Sport-ATV for high-performance off-roading with a sporty chassis, torque loaded performance, smooth power-output and throttle response thanks to Suzuki fuel injection and other cutting edge technologies borrowed from the Suzuki superbikes.
The overall times for the event were as follows:
- CS Santosh – Suzuki RMX450Z – 4:19:17
- Jes David – 5:17:39
- Joshua Pramod – Suzuki Quadsport Z400 – 6:07:25
