The penultimate stage of the 2018 Dakar rally saw the Indian contingents secure impressive results. Stage 13 was a marathon stage with the riders covering a total distance of 907 km including a timed section of 424 km riding from San Juan to Cordoba. With the task at hand to bring the bikes home, Hero's CS Santosh completed the stage in 33rd position while Sherco TVS rider Joan Pedrero secured his rally best finishing in 5th place. Oriol Mena finished in 8th place, stage and overall.
Pedrero was the star of Stage 13 pushing further in the marathon stage. Finishing 8th at the end of the day, his rankings improved from 14th to 11th overall. With the final stage later today, Pedrero will be looking to complete the rally within the top 10 places, a big jump for the solo Sherco TVS rider. Teammates Adrien Metge and Aravind KP, who crashed out earlier in the rally, are on the road to recovery.
Hero's CS Santosh completed the stage in 33rd position
At camp Hero, Oriol Mena has had an impressive run in his debut season of Dakar. The rider has consolidated his position in the top 10 for now, moving from 10th to 8th.
Oriol Mena said, "It was a good day for me. I rode really safe and made no mistakes. I want to thank my teammates who have been working really hard for me over the last couple of weeks. My rankings have been improving and I am first in the rookie class as of now, but we will see the final results after tomorrow's finish. Important thing is to make it to the finish line at Cordoba tomorrow."
Meanwhile, CS Santosh made steady progress in the penultimate stage and was the 33rd fastest rider of the day, finishing 34th overall.
Oriol Mena finished in 8th place, stage and overall
CS Santosh said, "Today was the last big stage of the Dakar with a long liaison and special. You think it is going to get easier towards the end, but it doesn't. The first 100 km was very hard but the second half was really nice and fast. I had a lot of fun today on my bike, as I tried to go as fast I could and enjoy the end of the Rally. Tomorrow we bring it home!
The final stage of the 2018 Dakar rally will take place in Cordoba where the riders will complete a total distance of 286 km including a liaison of 166 km and a special section of 120 km.
