Priyankka "Gata" is taking her passion for cross-country rallying back into the desert, this time for the Qatar International Baja.
No factory crew. Her bike, her preparation, her budget. In rally-raid that means managing the machine, the navigation and the logistics alongside the riding.
On 30 and 31 October she faces 538.44 km against the clock in the desert, after a podium finish at her first international rally in Spain. This is how she got to the start line, five years in the making…
Priyankka soon realised that cross-country rallying demanded a different kind of preparation.
This led her to Off-Piste Racing, under the mentorship of Dakar veteran Ashish Raorane, who has carved his own path into the world of international rally-raid and helped open the way for others in India.
For Priyankka, it was the beginning of learning not just to ride, but to rally.
At Baja Aragón 2026, her first international cross-country rally, she finished 3rd on the FIM Women's podium. Aragón ran about 810 km with 488.68 km timed.
A year of rigorous practise and the need to earn just a clean finish became a result in Spain. The feeling of reaching a summit is fleeting, but it is enough. Well, almost.
The training behind this started about five years ago. The same schedule, the same track, over and over, with braking drills before every attempt at the track.
From outside it looks like repetition. From inside it is the work, on the saddle and off it, through the injuries, the diet and the sleep. It is a process that takes everything.
Cross-country rallying demands years of it before the first start line, and navigation matters more than speed once the road disappears. Each year breaks something down so something stronger can be built in its place.
Motorsport is a niche sport in India, and the privateer route makes it a different sport. The riding is the visible part. Around it sits the work nobody films: building a training plan, deciding which rallies the season can afford, saving for entries and travel, and reaching out to sponsors in a market that keeps getting smaller.
One day job and a catsitting gig pay for the dream and the spares, and the work laptop is sometimes open minutes before a stage.
She doesn't talk about the barrier. She talks about the grind.
Priyankka's campaign has some brand support, and it matters. But it covers only part of what a full calendar costs. The rest — the bike, entries, travel, spares and training — she funds herself. That has already been enough for a podium.
Sustaining a season, and thinking seriously about a championship, takes more than that. She is looking for strategic partners across fuel and lubricants, tyres, gear, technical support and mobility.
In return, a partner gets a rider with an international result, a documented campaign from training to start line, and a content team that carries the story to a wider audience. It works for both sides.
Using rally raid context, a DNF (Did Not Finish) is a result and a DNS (Did Not Start) is a decision. The first means you rode into the unknown and the day won the argument. The second means you never found out.
Priyankka has spent five years choosing the start line over the safe side of it: the track on weekends, the never-ending training, the long stages, the road that runs out. Whatever Qatar brings, she will be on the line, because the regret of not going is always heavier than the failure of trying.
If you're a brand or publication who'd like to be part of what comes next, get in touch. A rider with an international result, a documented campaign, and a story worth telling.