In its maiden Dakar Rally, Hero MotoSports Rally Team has successfully completed the same with both riders and bikes making it to the final finish ramp at the Automobile Club of Argentina. The Dakar Rally 2017 saw Hero riders Joaquim Rodrigues, who also made his Dakar debut this year, finish 10th while India's very own CS Santosh finished 47th in his third Dakar outing.
One of the toughest races globally, this year saw teams and participants complete the 9000 km run across three countries - Paraguay, Bolivia and finally Argentina through varied temperatures, terrains, weather conditions and altitudes to make it to the finish line.
Rodrigues finished 10th in Stage 11 overall general classification
After Stage 10 was cancelled owing to harsh weather, Stage 11 started on an optimistic note for the Hero team as it aimed to complete the last major stretch of the grueling race. The 759 km stage, of which 288 km was the special timed section saw Rodrigues finish 14th in the day's classification, completing the trail in 3 hours 37 minutes and 56 seconds. Meanwhile, Santosh who started Stage 11 at 37th place, managed to maintain consistency but lost position finishing the day in 50th place in 4 hours 28 minutes and 34 seconds. Santosh was in 48th place at the end of Stage 11 in the overall general classification standings.
CS Santosh finished Stage 11 in 50th place
Stage 12, on the other hand, had the riders complete the last special section of 64 km. While the length may not be as great as the previous stages, but the riders had to ensure that there were no last minute mishaps on the final leg. Rodrigues completed the special section in 33 minutes and 57 seconds that put him in 15th place in the stage ranking, while Santosh covered the distance in 40 minutes and 39 seconds that put him 45th place for the day.
After 12 stages Rodrigues clocked 34 hours 25 minutes and 59 seconds, while Santosh finished all the timed sections in 42 hours 01 minute and 16 seconds over the complete 2017 edition of Dakar.
Santosh finished the timed section of Dakar 2017 in over 42 hours
Speaking on finally completing Dakar, Joaquim Rodrigues said, "Yes, the 2017 Dakar is done, and I am very happy. It was my first rally, so that makes it even more special. And to reach Buenos Aires being in the top 10 is indeed a great feeling. It was something I never thought of in the beginning. I am very thankful to Hero Motosports Team Rally that they taught me about this format of off-road racing. What's equally important is that both the bikes finished the rally. It shows how good and reliable they are."
Hero completed its first Dakar successfully bringing both riders home
The only Indian to have finished Dakar twice, CS Santosh said, "It's always a pleasure to reach the finish podium in the Dakar. It's an incredible feeling. I am satisfied with my performance, though I would have loved to finish much higher up in the rankings. But this is the Dakar. There were some good days and some not so good days. I have learnt a lot working with this team and they delivered a very strong and a fast bike. I think we have some interesting days ahead of us. I once again thank the team for lending its full support."
