CS Santosh Completes Career Best 34th; Oriol Mena Ends 7th As Top Rookie

The Indian teams at Dakar 2018 Sherco TVS and Hero MotoSports put up a brilliant effort to bring its bikes home in the final stage of the rally with Hero's Oriol Mena making his debut in the race this year while CS Santosh participated it for the fourth year. The solo rider from Sherco TVS, Joan Pedrero finished 11th overall, a career best finish.

By Sameer Contractor

1 mins read

Published on January 21, 2018

Highlights

2018 saw an incredible start for Indian motorsport with two factory teams Sherco TVS and Hero MotorSports making it to Dakar 2018 once again. With Indian riders as well, it was a rally that certainly did not disappoint. The final stage of the rally concluded in Cardoba with a 120 km timed section. The short stage left little room for growth and the riders consolidated their positions over Stage 13 while bringing the bikes home. That said, it was team Hero MotoSports that managed to lead between the two Indian teams with Oriol Mena breaking into the top 10, finishing 7th overall. (Oriol Mena Ends 7th As Top Rookie) Also Read: Dakar 2018, Stage 13: Joan Pedrero Finishes In Top 5; CS Santosh Recovers To 33rd In Penultimate Stage The Dakar rookie put up an impressive run consistently throughout the rally and finishing 6th in the final stage and 7th in overall classifications. The rider completed the stage 2hr22m52s down from the 2018 bike category winner Matthias Walkner of KTM Red Bull. Mena's performance has not only earned him a lot of praise but also the best rookie rider of the year title, while also establishing the only two-year-old Hero team as a force at Dakar. Also Read: Dakar 2018, Stage 11: Oriol Mena Breaks Into Top 10; CS Santosh Rises To 35th For teammate CS Santosh, the fast Indian took his third Dakar chequered flag out of four attempts. Santosh completed the stage in 32nd place and 34th overall, a career best finish for the rider. Meanwhile, Joaquim Rodriguez couldn't complete the rally due to a crash. (CS Santosh Completes Career Best 34th) Also Read: Dakar 2018; Stage 10: CS Santosh Survives Crash To Finish In Top 40; Mena And Pedrero Finish In Top 20 The only rider from Sherco TVS to soldier on from the early stages, Joan Pedrero was one of the best riders this season and more than made up for the absence of Aravind KP and Adrien Metge. Pedrero finished in 7th place in the stage and 11th the overall, securing his career best ranking in the event. (Joan Pedrero finished in 7th place and 11th overall, securing his career best ranking) Also Read: Dakar 2018, Stage 8: Mena Leads Indian Contingent; Santosh Shows Progress Meanwhile, rally legend Carlos Sainz scored his second Dakar victory in the car category in the 2018 edition of the challenging rally.