MOTORSPORT
Hero MotoSports Team Rally, in a show of respect, withdraws from the 2020 Dakar campaign after Paulo Goncalves’ demise
All the updates from the Saudi Arabian edition of the Dakar this year, including Hero MotoSports’ exploits; Ashish Raorane finishes the Africa Eco race, and all the highoctane action from the Valley Run
ANYONE EVEN REMOTELY interested in world rallying and crosscountry adventures comes across the word ‘Dakar’ at least once every year in their life. “What do you know about Dakar?” is the question posed by the curious. It’s simply the toughest motorsport event on the globe. And that’s putting it in words fewer than it deserves. As a result, most people know precious little about it. Imagine riding a 60+ bhp rally bike, getting cooked in 50 plus degree Celsius heat in the vast Saudi desert with no support between the start and the finish points. That’s not half the story though. The terrain changes every day, with challenging sand trails, big dunes and gruelling rocky terrain rattling every bone in the rider’s body, and a challenge Hero MotoSports took up back in 2017. The team has conquered the South American Dakar, and moved to their fourth Dakar campaign while the rally, too, has moved to their third chapter in Saudi Arabia.
Hero MotoSports Team Rally were putting in strong performances with their four-man squadron for the 2020 Dakar before the untimely death of Paulo ‘Speedy’ Goncalves, who lost his life during the seventh stage of the rally and this made the team decide not to continue. In the seven stages that the riders stepped out, they put on a spectacular show with the newest addition, Sebastien Buhler, consistently staying in the top 25 while Paulo finished inside the top ten thrice, consecutively. C S Santosh was taking it steady, pushing harder on every stage but focused on finishing the rally and managed to finish 36th overall. JRod ran into a technical problem in the second stage, re-entering
under the ‘Dakar Experience’ category, with his best finish being 23rd in the fourth stage.
The team got off to a good start, with Paulo leading the assault with a 12th place finish in the opening stage, a 752km route from Jeddah to Al Wajih. While Buhler took his first Dakar stage with the new team in 31st spot, C S Santosh had a few crashes leaving him with an injured wrist and a respectable 39th place stage finish. The opening stage was a worry for JRod, as he immediately had a mechanical failure which forced him to retire. Even as a wild card entry, and not being a part of the standings, JRod gave his all in order to complete the whole rally. Getting to Neom the next day was quite the thrill, with lots of rocky sections forcing the team to tread even more cautiously. Buhler had a faster pace this time, finishing more than ten spots ahead in 21st, while Speedy was three spots short of the top ten. C S Santosh was unable to put in his best due to his injured wrist and could only manage a 54th place finish. However, as he recovered, his stage times improved and he was back with some good performances.
Stage three proved what we call the Dakar Spirit. Paulo encountered an engine failure mid-rally, leaving him stranded. Paulo had no intention of giving up. The 40-year-old rally pilot sourced an engine from a competitor and set about swapping the motor all by himself, costing him heaps of time, ultimately reaching the bivouac late at night in 127th place. Santosh upped his speed, besting the terrain with a best finish of 31st in the sixth stage, earning him the 35th spot overall before the team retired from the rally. Buhler too suffered a setback, with a mechanical failure taking away his chance of finishing the sixth stage which forced him to retire from the overall standings. The seventh stage of the 2020 Dakar reminded us that it is no ordinary rally, shockingly claiming the life of Paulo ‘Speedy’ Goncalves, who suffered a cardiac arrest after an accident 276km into the stage en route to Wadi Al Dawasir. Speedy was to conquer his 13th Dakar this year, and was pushing hard to finish well inside the top ten. His passing was a tragic day for his family, the entire Dakar family and motorsport community around the globe, as Paulo was not just an experienced rally pilot, but also a husband, a father, a brother, a mentor and an inspiration to many that choose to follow the sport.
Rest and ride in peace, Speedy. ⌧
GETTING TO NEOM WAS A THRILL, WITH ROCKY SECTIONS FORCING THE TEAM TO TREAD CAUTIOUSLY