BENGALURU: CS Santosh has once again made the finish line at the Dakar Rally. An overall 47th place in the 2017 edition may not sound all that great. But if you factor in what each competitor goes through, it is a commendable achievement. This was Santosh’s third Dakar Rally.
He finished 36th in his maiden event, while his bike packed up in the second. This year, competing for Hero Motorsports, he was down more than 100 places, but clawed back, with teammate Joaquim Rodrigues finishing overall 12th. The other Indian, KP Aravind, was making his Dakar debut with TVS-Sherco, but crashed out.
“It’s a happy moment for the team because Joaquim and I finished the rally,” Santosh said here on Wednesday. “After three Dakars, I’m a lot more confident, and know that I can deliver. I need to be more cautious and consistent to finish the 12,000km plus rally. The other aspects I’ve learned are to be stronger physically and mentally.”
In 2016, the event was in Argentina and Bolivia, while this year, the stages ran through Paraguay as well. Santosh described the route as technical, one that required lots of concentration. To add to that, this was the Hero team’s debut Dakar.
“This year’s Dakar was totally different. The terrain was rough and stages were different,” he explained.
“Things went according to plan in the first two stages. The aim was to stay in the top 40, and then try moving into the top 20 in the second week. However, my progress was negated since I got a one hour, twenty minute penalty for missing a way point. I ended up 104th after that stage.”
This was the 32-year-old’s toughest Dakar. “It’s all about endurance and speed, but for safety, organisers made it more technical so as to reduce speed. Therefore, navigation was a challenge. There was camel grass, dry river beds and rocks to counter. I feel this was my toughest Dakar,” he opined.
On Aravind’s exit, he said: “I know it’s disappointing when you see others finish and you’re out. It happened to me last year, but I told him to be positive.”
To handle the terrain requires tremendous maturity and skill. For Indians making their debut, it is a big challenge, since the national two-wheeler rally championship has a competitive distance of not more than 60km. To go to the Dakar and ride many more times in just a day is a daunting task, unless a rider has done other events abroad.
“That’s one part of it,” Santosh said. “I’m racing on a Spanish licence, since I’m unable to get insurance when I compete on an Indian federation licence.”
Despite the challenges, the Bengaluru lad is determined to do better next time, and is already gearing up.
vivekphadnis@newindianexpress.com