Ahead of grid, Coma boost for Santosh

It’s always a big morale booster when others have good things to say. I just hope that I’m able to relive the high of last year once again. CS SANTOSH, Indian biker

BUENOS AIRES: It was a blink and miss moment. As CS Santosh rolled up the start ramp, a brilliant smile lit up Marc Coma’s face, who joined the Dakar organisation as sporting director after winning the moto class five times. Perhaps, the memory of Santosh lending his tyres last year at a critical stage that enabled him to win the Dakar for the fifth time is still fresh in the rally legend’s mind.

But in more ways than one, Coma’s gesture towards the Indian pilot is symptomatic of the goodwill that the Santosh carries in the Dakar paddock. Even as he was kitting up to embark upon his Dakar adventure, a stream of other riders and mechanics made it a point to wish him well.

In a sport marked by cut-throat competition, it’s rare to find such genuine warmth. And, given the odds that Santosh had to beat in the run-up to this Dakar, he needs every bit of good wish and prayer coming his way. “It’s always a big morale booster when others have good things to say,” said Santosh.

It’s not just the fellow competitors who are warm towards him. As Santosh rode past thousands of unknown Argentinians who lined up on both sides of the road at Technopolis, from where the rally juggernaut that rolled off on it’s more than 9,000-kilometre journey, for the prologue stage he was given a rousing send-off.

In comparison to what lies in store for the riders and drivers for the next two weeks, the day’s agenda can be considered as a walk in the park. But still it involves covering a total distance of 346-km with 11kms of timed section that will determine the starting order for the 632 km first stage of the rally.