Dakar 2018, Stage 7: Santosh Recovers Into Top 40; Pedrero Leads At 16th

After a well deserved rest day at La Paz, the 2018 Dakar Rally kicked off again for its second leg with Stage 7 on Saturday. Hero MotoSports soldiered with two riders while Sherco TVS continued with lone rider in the first marathon stage of the rally. Indian rider CS Santosh made a remarkable recovery at the end of Stage 7 and finished the day in 39th position, and 40th overall. Stage 7 saw riders complete the 727 km marathon stage between La Paz and Uyuni with a timed stretch of 425 km.

(CS Santosh finished 40th overall after being dropped to 97th in Stage 3)

Santosh's recovery comes after he dropped down the order in Stage 3 after running out of fuel. Nevertheless, the Hero rider has been consistently rising in the rider standings, despite an injured ankle from an earlier crash. Meanwhile, Oriol Mena on the second Hero bike has been consistently doing well and finished 17th at the end of Stage 7, breaking into top-20.

At Sherco TVS, Joan Pedrero is one of the strongest riders out there and leads the Indian contingent. Pedrero finished in the 16th place overall, after finishing the stage in 21st place.

(Joan Pedrero has been consistently climbing the ranks)

Hero had another good news to share with Joaquim Rodrigues recuperating well in Portugal. Meanwhile, both Sherco TVS riders Adrien Metge and India's Aravind KP are also on the road to recovery.

The rally will now move to Tupiza for the second leg of the marathon stage. With nearly 500 km to cover including a high altitude dune crossing, Stage 8 will be the longest special stage of the rally. Tupiza will be the last halt for the rally in Bolivia before changing the borders again and crossing over to Argentina.