In a major disappointment for Indian motorsport fans, Aravind KP from team Sherco TVS is out of the Dakar Rally 2017. Aravind who made his Dakar debut only this year, had a crash 40 km into Stage 3 of the rally damaging his right shoulder seriously. This, in addition to yesterday's crash that left him with a broken wrist, made it extremely difficult for the Bangalore boy to continue his quest in the highly demanding rally raid. Fortunately, the injuries have been treated by the medical team.
Joan Pedrero leads amidst the Indian contingent
Stage 3 of the Dakar Rally 2017 was one of the most challenging yet and saw more crashes for the year. The day saw riders cover a total disatance of 780 km between San Miguel de Tucuman and San Salvador de Jujuy, of which 416 km was the special stage. The day also saw riders tackle harsh weather conditions as they rapidly climbed the Andes up to 5000 metres, while the navigational challenges for the initial part of the race, ensured most racers lost their way.
Adrien Metge managed a healthy recovery to 68th, after finishing 124th on Day 2
Aravind's teammates have had better luck in the third stage. Joan Pedrero finished 16th, finishing 33 minutes and 56 seconds behind the lead Joan Barreda. The Spanish rider lost crucial 15 minutes at the beginning of the stage looking for the right course, which cost him to drop from 9th to 14th overall. Meanwhile, Adrien Metge, who had a breakdown yesterday and finished 124th, made a healthy recovery, being placed 32nd. He is now 68th in overall standings.
CS Santosh Dakar Rally 2017 Stage 3
CS Santosh received a penalty for missing a way point
Santosh's teammate Joaquim Rodrigues too lost his way initially that cost him 35 minutes at the 30th km, but managed to compensate for the time lost once he was out of the river bed, and finished the day in 8 hours 21 minutes and 19 seconds. The day ended with the Portugal rider finishing 19th, that put in him in 20th in the overall provisional general classifications.
Joaquim Rodrigues maintained good pace on Stage 3
The Dakar Rally 2017 is only going to get more difficult from here. That said, Stage 4 will be relatively shorter in length of 521 km with a competitive distance of 416 km and will take the riders over the Bolivian border. They will be spending most of their day above 3500 metres (11,483 ft) during the run from San Salvador de Jujuy to Tupiza in Bolivia.
As for Aravind's exit, the young Indian rider has managed to achieve a commendable feat, which very few can claim. While this may be a minor setback, Aravind now has another year to prepare and come back stronger, sharper and faster in Dakar 2018.
