CS Santosh is steadily rising up the rank in the Dakar rally. He finished 38th in the Stage 8, climbing to the 42nd position in the overall rankings.
As the previous stage was a marathon stage, the riders had to make do without the assistance of their team. The Stage 8 was the longest and toughest special stage of the 2018 Dakar. The route took the competitors through an altitude of 4,800 metres, with rain making the challenge tougher than it already was. With his 38th finish, CS Santosh jumped from 46th to 42nd position in the overall rankings. His Hero Speedbrain team mate, Oriol Mena, blitzed through the Stage 8, finishing in the 14th position. He now stands 18th overall. Sherco TVS rider, Juan Pedrero Garcia, finished 30th, and has dropped from 16th to 20th in the overall standings.
The deteriorating weather conditions led to Stage 9 being called off. The circus will now move on to Salta bivouac by road, where the Stage 10 will be flagged off on 16 January. The Stage 10 will be run between Salta and Belén over 797 kilometres.
