Following the cancellation of Stage 9 due to unexpected weather conditions, Stage 10 of the 2018 Dakar Rally started in Argentina at Salta, where the riders had a complete a total distance of 797 km with 424 of the liasion section and 373 of the timed section. The rather long day saw the Indian teams perform extremely level, which was a navigational challenge in every way. Nevertheless, the Indian teams posted pretty impressive results with the Oriol Mena and Joan Pedrero finishing in top 20, while CS Santosh survived a crash to finish in top 40 overall.
Stage 10 saw Santosh put up good pace through the day. However, the 34-year-old suffered a crash in the second half the stage, but quick intervention from the team ensured that Santosh was back on track. The Indian rider completed the stage with the 44th fastest time, while finishing 40th overall.
(Oriol Mena secured his Dakar best finish in 4th place in Stage 10)
CS Santosh said, "I began the Stage well and was enjoying it, but 20 kms before the neutralization point, in the fast-piste section, I took a big jump, landed on some rocks and had a big crash. It was very difficult from then on and somehow I made it to the end of the first special. I met the Team there and we were able to quickly fix the bike and I got going again to finish the stage. It was a really tough day but we got it done and now only three more days to go for Cordoba."
Hero teammate Oriol Mena though had much better performance to offer in Stage 10 and finished the day in 4th place, his Dakar best so far. This puts Mena in the 14th place overall at the of the stage. The Dakar debutant also stopped and called for rescue for a feloow rider who crashed in front of him, the second time this season. Mena is now just 20 minutes behind stage leader Matthias Walkner of KTM.
Also witnessing an impressive finish was Joan Pedrero of Sherco TVS with the rider completing the stage in 10th place, and 17th position overall. The team is now working on giving the RTR 450's engine a complete overhaul for the marathon Stage 11.
(Joan Pedrero completed Stage 10 in the 10th place, 17th overall)
Stage 11 is a marathon stage and will see riders move from Belen to Fiambala. The stage is dependent on the weather conditions and the firmness of the sand, and will pose a major challenge to the riders.
