CS Santosh running in 42nd place after stage eight

After scoring a personal best 32nd position in the eighth stage, India’s CS Santosh has now been classified 42nd in the overall rankings of the gruelling 2015 Dakar Rally. Emerging from a bleak 63rd position and battling injuries, the 30-year old finally broke into the top 50 after the rest day of the 9,000-kilometre endurance rally. 

Nursing a hairline fracture in the big toe of his left foot, Santosh maintained a consistent pace in the 378 kilometre-long eighth stage of the rally. Stretching from the salt flats of Salar de Uyuni to Iquique, the stage was made particularly complicated owing to the unexpected rain, the previous night. And being a marathon stage, the riders weren’t allowed to get any help from their service vehicles. 

Riding a KTM 450 Rally Replica for Team Kini Red Bull, Santosh’s journey in the 2015 Dakar Rally so far has been marred by accidents and injuries, though he continues to soldier on. The next stage of the rally will take the racers from Iquique to Calalma, a distance of over 450 kilometres. With the rally already facing an attrition rate of around 50 per cent, we have to say that Santosh’s performance has been nothing short of spectacular. With just five more days to go, we will be closely following Santosh’s progress in the rally. Stay tuned to BikeWale.