Dakar Rally 2018 Blog #4 – Indians are off to a flying start

Day 1 of the Dakar Rally 2018 is now behind us and at the end of Stage 1, the results are thus. UK’s Sam Sunderland, riding for KTM, finished first overall while Qatari driver Nasser al-Attiyah of Toyota Gazoo Racing finished ahead of everyone else. But that’s not what I’m excited about. I’m actually thrilled with the results that our Indian riders have notched up for teams Hero Motorsports and Sherco TVS.

Our best Dakar result ever came courtesy C S Santosh who finished in a brilliant 13^th spot overall for Hero Motorsports. Second Indian rider Aravind K P too did very well with a 31^st place finish astride his Sherco TVS motorcycle. Although these numbers don’t seem like much, given the nature of the Dakar and the sheer number of competitors these results are phenomenal. Of course it’s early days and there’s still a long way to go till the final chequered flag, fact remains that there’s nothing more conducive to a morale boost than a good start. So, here’s wishing C S Santosh and Aravind K P all the best for the days ahead and congratulations on the wonderful start.