In 2003, Maruti Suzuki initiated Desert Storm that put the rallyists and their machines through the extreme conditions of the Thar Desert. North Indian rallies are known as the toughest in the country as they subject competitors to extreme weather conditions. The Desert Storm rally makes the competitors navigate across the barren sandy expanse of Rajasthan and those who are caught unawares have to extricate their cars from the treacherous sand traps and locate landmarks to find their way through the endless dunes of the Thar. It tests the endurance of man and machine to the limit.

Over the years the Maruti Suzuki Desert Storm has graduated from being a single category event to running four categories in 2011, Xtreme, Moto, Ndure and Xplore. Flagging off from New Delhi, the Desert Storm Rally 2013 will traverse a gruelling 2,200 km through Sardarshahar, Bikaner, Jaisalmer, Bikaner and finally end at Jaipur. It has witnessed the highest participation with 263 rally racers. The Maruti Suzuki Desert Storm is one of the toughest and most popular rallies in the country given the conditions, tough stages and spectacular terrain ranging from desert stretches and vast salt flats to dirt tracks.