SANTOSH SLIPS, BUT STAYS IN HUNT IN DAKAR

NAZCA(PERU): The 2019 Dakar Rally entered its real phase with the second stage, which comprised a total of 553 km including the significant 342-km Special Stages from Pisco to San Juan de Marcona via the Ica desert here.

More competitors dropped out just on the completion of the second of the 10 stages but significantly Indian riders did well to finish the long day and keep themselves in contention.

Despite having to encounter several sand dunes on the way to the finish line, CS Santosh of Hero Motosports Team Rally finished the second stage in 37th position. The 35-year-old faced some difficulties on Tuesday, having to deal with technical glitches en route but managed to keep the momentum he had earned on the opening day.

His teammate Joaquim Rodriques – 34th in second stage -- was forced to stop and attend to a fuel issue, in the process losing time while Santosh (4:06.20) had to ride with caution in the second part of the stage, sensing some trouble with his clutch.

In the overall standings, Portugal’s Rodriqgues is 32nd while Santosh is 33rd out of the 133 bikers left in the Moto category.

“Day 2 for me started really well and I had a good rhythm going for the first 80-90 km. Then on I started sensing some trouble with my clutch, and decided to ease off to make it to the finish line safely. Had a good stage today and now we fix the glitch and go racing again tomorrow,” said Santosh.

The third biker of the team Oriol Mena of Spain, meanwhile, continued his good run and was the first one to head out and brought home a solid 17th place finish in 3:46.51. In overall standings, he is now placed at 16th position. Austrian Matthias Walkner topped the standings in the second stage with a timing of three hours, 23 minutes and 57 seconds but overall yesterday’s leader Joan Barreda Bort continued to top the standings with a total time of 4:23.14.

The other Indian in the fray, KP Aravind of Sherco TVS Rally team finished Stage 2 in 60th position (4:43.57) and is overall classified as 61st.

During Wednesday’s Stage 3, the rally will move to Arequipa for an even longer stage of 799 km.