TIL Desk Sports/ Indian driver C S Santosh, racing for Hero MotoSports Team, gained five positions to be 51st overall after the fifth stage of the Dakar Rally, which will now move into Bolivia. Santosh decided to play it safe and steady as the rally neared the halfway mark to finish the stage at 52nd position.
“It was a really hard day. I was feeling a bit tired in the morning as I didn’t have a good sleep, so it took me a little time to get going in the stage. The stage was tough, especially the last 50km or so,” Santosh said.
“The dunes were really churned up and the sand was incredibly soft. It took everything that I had and the machine had to make it through today. One more day to go before the much deserved rest day,” he added.
Dakar debutant Oriol Mena, also competing for Hero MotoSports Team, finished 11th, his second top-15 stage finish. Overall, Mena now stands at the 21st position at the end of stage 5. In the 5th stage, the organisers separated the route for the Quads/Bikes and Cars/Trucks.
