Mare sees off Lorenzo challenge to win Desert Storm title

Aaron Mare of Angata Racing won the Desert Storm title in his maiden appearance despite a sizzling Santolino Lorenzo of TVS Racing topping four out of the five legs in the Moto category of the 16th edition here.

What cost Lorenzo was the opening leg that took place in the night as the Spaniard is not used to riding after the daylight back in Europe.

I wish had an extra stage. The night stage cost me about 20 mins but overall it was a good experience in India, said Lorenzo, who finished five minutes behind Mare with a time of eight hours, six minutes and 39 seconds.

Mare clocked 8:01:20 overall to secure the title though he was a full two minutes slower than Lorenzo in the fifth and final leg comprising a single stage of 24kms set in Sam Sand Dunes of the Thar Desert.

The win was for the taking for Mare after three-time champion C S Santosh of Hero MotoSports Team Rally had crashed out of the competition during leg three while leading the rally.

Going into the final day, the Dubai-based Mare had a five minute advantage over Lorenzo and it was almost impossible for the Spaniard to cover that gap in such a short stage.

Lorenzo was also the sole TVS Racing rider to finish the event after the other five had to retire due to technical issues.

Barring the opening leg, the remaining night stages in the two-wheel category were cancelled with riders expressing safety concerns including Lorenzo, who is a former World Junior Enduro Champion.