India Baja 2017: Day one in photographs

This year, India Baja, which was founded last year by Northern Motorsports, has been granted the status of Dakar Challenge by the France-based sports management organisation that also organises the Tour de France

India Baja 2017 was oflagged off with technical and administrative checks of participating vehicles.

The India Baja 2017 will be run in the mighty Thar Desert on the outskirts of the golden city of Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, which has some of the biggest dunes in the country.

The complexities of the Baja and the attractive prizes have drawn a host of international drivers such as Joaquim Rodrigues (Portugal) and Adrian Metge (France).

A volunteer does a final check on a drone before the rally kicks off.

Other key highlights of the day included a compulsory competitive briefing being done by the brand ambassador of India Baja and the inaugural edition champion C. S. Santosh, who explained to the participants the importance of safety in this form of motorsports.

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India Baja 2017 was oflagged off with technical and administrative checks of participating vehicles.