CS Santosh and Aravind KP have started the Dakar 2018 with a bang. The two Indian riders finished the first stage in the 13th and 30th position respectively.
The first stage of the Dakar 2018 rally was flagged off from Peruvian capital, Lima, and took the riders south towards Pisco. A total of 139 motorcycles, 92 cars, 49 quads and 44 trucks were flagged off for the 273 kilometre stage which involved a short timed dash of 31 kilometres through sand dunes. CS Santosh finished the stage in 24 minutes and 11 seconds, over 3 minutes behind the leader – Sam Sunderland (KTM). Santosh is the highest ranked Hero Speedbrain rider as of now, with his rookie team mate Oriol Mena finishing 22nd. Aravind KP on the other hand, finished the stage in just over 26 minutes, which has placed him 30th in rankings. His Sherco TVS team mates Adrien Metge and Juan Pedrero Garcia finished 23rd and 24th respectively.
Disappointingly, things didn’t go as smooth for Hero Speedbrain’s Joaquim Rodrigues. The top-10 contender encountered a bad crash in the sand dunes and had to be airlifted to a hospital, putting an end to his campaign. On a brighter note, he is out of danger as of now. The second stage of Dakar 2018 will be conducted within the sand dunes of Pisco, covering 278 kilometres.
Dakar 2018 rankings, Stage 1 and Overall –
1 Sam Sunderland (KTM)
2 Adrien Van Beveren (Yamaha)
3 Pablo Quintanilla (Husqvarna)
13 CS Santosh (Hero Speedbrain)
22 Oriol Mena (Hero Speedbrain)
23 Adrien Metge (TVS Sherco)
24 Juan Pedrero Garcia (TVS Sherco)
30 Aravind KP (TVS Sherco)
