Dakar 2018, Stage 2: CS Santosh Drops To 28th; Aravind KP To 32nd

The 2018 Dakar Rally really got the ball rolling in Stage 2 after a giving glimpse of what's to come on Day 1. The 267 km stage with a 12 km liason in Pisco, Peru saw 90 per cent of the stage off track. Competitors were subjected to tricky canyons in the first 40 km of the stage, which was followed by a series of dunes. The stage was a challenge to navigate as well, which meant the riders had to be cautious in their approach. Hero's CS Santosh led between the two Indian riders, but dropped down to 29th (from 13th) at the end of Stage 2. The fast Indian finished the stage with a time of 3hr22m51s, while holding 28th spot overall.

(CS Santosh posted of a good run finishing under top-30)

His teammate Oriol Mena though managed to post a better time though and finished the stage at 27th place, while holding to the same spot overall. While both riders saw a drop in standings, they did post of better numbers on what was first full fledged stage.

Speaking about Stage 2, CS Santosh said, "The Dakar really kicked off today with a difficult stage. The sand was really soft and some of the dunes were really massive. I started really slow but then gained a good rhythm. I had fun today and really happy to make it to the end of day 2."

(Hero's Oriol Mena finished 27th overall at the end of Stage 2)

Oriol Mena said, "It was a really hard day today but I covered the first half at really good speed and caught up with three riders in front of me. Before the re-fuelling station I had slight problem and lost a few minutes there but happy that I finished today and now have one day less to arrive at Cordoba."

It was a bag of hits and misses at the Sherco-TVS Rally Team at the end of Stage 2. Aravind KP made steady progress and put up a strong show and was the 40th fastest rider in Stage 2, while finishing 32nd overall. Aravind falls behind CS Santosh by a gap of just 12m04s, but both riders are almost half an hour apart over rally leader Joan Barreda of Honda. Joan Pedrero managed to finish 22nd at the end of the day, and 23rd overall, posting the best rank between both the Indian teams. Pedrero though lost time after his bike broke down 2 km from the refuelling station, losing 10-15 minutes of precious time.

(Joan Pedrero Sherco posted the best rank finishing Stage 2 in 23rd place overall)

However, Sherco TVS too lost a rider for this season with Adrien Metge facing a fall in the dunes. Metge had to retire completely of the rest of the rally due to the injuries leaving teammates Pedrero and Aravind to continue the journey.

Speaking about the turn of events in Stage 2, Sherco-TVS team manager David Casteu said, "It was very difficult today. We quickly learned about Adrien's fall. We are like a family, we live together, the good things and the bad things. We know that the riders are fully committed and it is very hard to see a rider having to stop because of an injury."

(Aravind KP made steady progress on Stage 2, finishing under top-40)

Speaking about Aravind, he said, "He [Aravind] continues his way and rode a beautiful stage with good navigating despite the high difficulty of it. He has protected himself very well and he continues at a pace that suits him. "

Stage 3 of the 2018 Dakar Rally will commence on January 8, and will move to the next location of San Juan De Marcona. Here, competitors can expect to encounter a Chott (dry/marshy saline lake), a number of canyons and almost 60 per cent sand during the 504 km course.