1. The vehicle

Beyond deciding on your teammates, selecting your car is the biggest decision you’ll make in preparing for this expedition. With the no restriction being engine size, you can let your imagination do the rest.

 

2. Charity selection and fundraising

There’s more to the ARC India Rally than the ongoing challenges. It’s a wonderful opportunity to give something back to the world that you’ll be driving across. The Adventurists require you to raise Rs. 100000 for charity as part of your preparation – for road safety and also to set up chain of accident relief centers ARCs on major highways across India. 

Everyone you meet from now until the start line will be fascinated about your adventure, so take this opportunity to ask for donations, however big. Rs. 100000 isn’t much once you’ve arranged all your friends and family, so aim higher. It’s a great opportunity to give some legitimacy to your summer of high jinks. 

 

3. Sponsorship

It’s not impossible to do The Rally for free. 12 some of our compatriots had companies write healthy cheques in return for photos and videos of rally cars plastered with their logos bouncing around the Altai Mountains, or Uzbek desert. Negotiating these terms, however, takes persistence and dedication. Businesses aren’t going to give you money without good reason, so look for angles which may relate to their fields, and remind them of the fact this is not a holiday but an expedition of epic proportions. 

If you’re finding money hard to come by, speak to local businesses who may be happy to give you useful equipment – camping shops or mechanics for example. In exchange for a couple of Instagram tags, you might be able to save a few hundred or thousand rupees – enough to compensate at least ten Indian policemen.

 

4. Route selection

There’s a start line, a finish line, and not much else in between. For me this is the Rally’s finest quality. In the few days following the Indian lunch, there are organised festive pit stops in Indian cities, but from here on out the rest is dictated solely by your time, budget, and bravery. The Adventurists are not the hand-holding type, and leaving each team to fend for themselves in whatever remote corner of India they deem appropriate to drive through is a fresh, liberating experience. 

Briefly glance at a map, calculate how much time you have and start chasing the rising sun. Popular routes include cities and suburb and Indian villages, negotiating with cargo ships to take you across the start point. If you get lost, just watch on the mobile app and look for the locations of other participants, something which we found useful on more than one occasion. 

 

 

5. Equipment

Spare wheels and tyres, jerry cans for fuel, tents, sleeping bags, duct-tape, tow rope, and a pillow. That’s the basics covered. Every year cars roll up to the start line decorated with a bizarre collection of items, and you’re encouraged to compete with the best of them. OK, so you’ll probably get more use out of a full tool kit. Doing something outrageous will build a profile for you and your charities, and raise smiles for five thousand miles. 

 

6. Getting home again

The ARC India Rally has changed recently, with the finish line having moved to the Indian city, town and villages. When you arrive, celebrate! After all, you have just completed an ARC India Rally and check your vehicle and if it is scratch free then you will be recognized.

 

Once the dust settles the take your car back into home, by either driving, or having it transported by logistic or cargo train as you fly.