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Tag: Dakar Rally 2021
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Hero MotoSport Team Rally continues solid run at Dakar 2022
Wadi Ad Dawasir (Saudi Arabia), 10 Jan. 2022: Hero MotoSports Team Rally, the motorsport team of the world’s largest manufacturer of motorcycles and scooters – Hero MotoCorp, delivered yet another impressive performance in the eighth stage of the Dakar Rally 2022.
Both Joaquim Rodrigues and Aaron Maré put up a strong performance in a fast stage, bagging the seventh and 19th positions in the stage rankings of the RallyGP class.
Since winning Stage 3, JRod has been consistently finishing in the top 10 positions and his strong finish today places him at the 14th position in the overall RallyGP class rankings. Aaron enjoyed riding on his Hero 450 Rally, especially in the long dune sections on Monday. His performance puts him in 16th place in the overall RallyGP class rankings.
Stage 8 which started off with sandy dunes, quickly moved to narrow tracks full of stones and then wet stretches, before heading into a constant web of valleys and wadis. Finding the right path from one valley to another was unusually difficult in the day’s 400 km special section.
Starting the last leg of the race, Stage 9 will be a 490 km loop around Wadi Ad-Dawasir, featuring mountains and tracks that wind their way around canyons. Although there will be lesser sand than earlier, this short stage is still presumed to be a difficult one.
Joaquim Rodrigues
“I had another good stage. It was really fast, but it was a good race. The Hero Rally 450 has been performing at its best, and I’m happy with my performance as well. We’ve been posting consistent results, and I hope we can keep it up till the end of the race.”
Aaron Maré
“The stage started really well, and I enjoyed riding in the dunes till about refuel. After refuel, the tracks became quite fast and windy, though I enjoyed that as well because it wasn’t as rocky as the previous stages. I also felt a lot more comfortable with the navigation, and finished without making any mistakes. I’m happy with my consistent performance, and hoping for a better result ahead.”
Provisional Stage 8 Rankings – RallyGP class:
1. Sam Sunderland GasGas Factory Racing 03h 48m 02s
2. Pablo Quintanilla Monster Energy Honda + 02m 53s
3. Matthias Walkner Red Bull KTM Factory Team + 04m 11s
4. Ricky Brabec Monster Energy Honda + 06m 44s
7. Joaquim Rodrigues Hero MotoSports Team Rally + 09m 58s
19. Aaron Maré Hero MotoSports Team Rally + 20m 17s
Provisional Overall Standings after Stage 8 – RallyGP class:
1. Sam Sunderland GasGas Factory Racing 27h 38m 42s
2. Matthias Walkner Red Bull KTM Factory Team + 03m 45s
3. Adrien van Beveren Monster Energy Yamaha + 04m 43s
4. Pablo Quintanilla Monster Energy Honda + 05m 30s
14. Joaquim Rodrigues Hero MotoSports Team Rally + 58m 05s
16. Aaron Maré Hero MotoSports Team Rally + 01h 11m 46s
Provisional Overall Standings after Stage 8 – All classes:
1. Sam Sunderland GasGas Factory Racing 27h 38m 42s
2. Matthias Walkner Red Bull KTM Factory Team + 03m 45s
3. Adrien van Beveren Monster Energy Yamaha + 04m 43s
4. Pablo Quintanilla Monster Energy Honda + 05m 30s
15. Joaquim Rodrigues Hero MotoSports Team Rally + 58m 05s
17. Aaron Maré Hero MotoSports Team Rally + 01h 11m 46s
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Major injuries ruled out: Hero MotoSports Statement on CS Santosh’s condition
New Delhi, 7 Jan 2021: Hero MotoSports has issued the following statement on the condition of 37-year old ace Indian rider and 7-time Dakar Rally veteran who crashed in Stage 5 and is airlifted to a Riyadh hospital. INDIAinF1.com wishes him a speedy recovery!
Santosh teammate Sebastian Buhler, who finished Stage 5 in 20th place said: “Today was a very tough stage. We had everything from tricky navigation, to a lot of dangerous rocks and a lot of dunes. So, I think it was a very good day for us to finish without any major incident. But the best news from today is to hear that Santosh is out of danger and is getting better. That’s the best part of today for us here in the team.” Another teammate, Joaquim Rodriques, popular as J-Rod despite a minor fall finished the stage in 22nd place. He said: “After a tough day, it was such great news to hear that Santosh has no major concerns with his injury and will recover well. We are really happy to hear this.”
Harith Noah continues good run with 41st position after Stage 5 for a general rank of 39 overall. He clocked 7 hours, 01min and 44 seconds for the 662-km stage. A TVS Racing product and the other Indian left in the field, is Ashish. Harith Noah supported by Sherco managed to complete the toughest section with aplomb whereas Mumbai Mariner, Ashish Raorane, in the Marathon category of `Malle’ for riders without assistance, has not made it to the finish at the time of reporting this article on 7 Jan at 9.33 pm IST. But he crossed the final Waypoint and was tracked live as he made it to the penultimate 330-km mark.
Earlier on Wednesday after Stage 4, Ashish Raorane said:
I had a good stage today. It finally felt like a rally after the Eenduro sections we were put through in the previous 3 stages! I had good fun navigating as well until I came across Santosh bike following his accident. As I passed it, I was unable to focus as his well-being and thoughts of his accident stayed with me. After an hour, I was able to regain focus and continue on…
Towards the end of the stage, I faced issues with navigation. The roadbook wasn’t scrolling so I had to manually scroll it, costing me a lot of time and missed turns. Overall, the stage was good with a long liaison though. At the bivouac, I noticed leakage from the front fuel tank fuel pump. I got working on it immediately and fixed the issue. Today was a really exhausting day and I wish my friend Santosh, a speedy recovery.”
The Statement
File photo of CS Santosh ride on 5th Jan 2021. Photo by Hero MotoSports Team Rally Our Hero MotoSports Team Rally rider C S Santosh is currently receiving treatment at the Saudi German Hospital in Riyadh, after a high-speed crash on Wednesday in Stage 4 of the 2021 Dakar Rally.
We are pleased to share that he has no major physical injuries except for the dislocated right shoulder and head trauma. The latest scans have also shown no major issue that could impact his full recovery.
The medical team attending to him have decided that the best approach to manage the injury is to reduce the body functions to a minimum and keep him in a sedated condition or an artificial coma.
He is receiving the best possible medical care and will continue to be under constant observation for the next few days.
We express our deepest gratitude and thanks to the riders who extended their help to Santosh. We also want to thank the organizers for getting the medical and rescue teams on the spot in quick time and airlifting him to reach the hospital quickly.
We are also most grateful to all of you for pouring in your prayers and wishes from all over the world for the speedy recovery of Santosh and your overwhelming support to our team.
The entire Hero MotoSports Team Rally and the extended Hero Family is fully committed to aid the recovery and rehabilitation of our teammate.
Hero MotoSports riders in top-20
Moving past the unfortunate incident of Stage 4, Hero MotoSports Team Rally continued to move forward in their Dakar 2021 campaign with a solid performance in Stage 5 today.
After Stage 5, both the riders are now placed inside the Top 20 in the overall rankings, with Joaquim Rodrigues in 19th and Sebastian Buhler in the 20th position.
It was the turn of Sebastian Buhler today to step up and post gains with a 20th place finish in the stage. Joaquim Rodrigues also fought off a very tough stage to finish in the 22nd position. The 456 km stage lived up to its expectation of being a very hard one, with a tough dunes section, stone littered tracks and tricky navigation designed to test the patience and tyres of the competitors. Both team riders kept their nerves steady and brought a tough stage home.
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CS Santosh out of Dakar; Noah, Ashish keep the Indian flag flying
Wadi Ad Dasar (Saudi Arabia) 6 Jan 2021: Ace Indian Rider #50 CS Santosh of Hero MotoSports Factory Rally Team crashed out of Dakar Rally 2021 in 813-km Stage 4 here on Wednesday, which saw over 8 riders crash out. Santosh fell and hit his head after crossing the third Waypoint, said initial reports, but was also conscious when he was taken to the Riyadh hospital. Initial reports said that the Bengaluru-based rider is out of `danger’ and stable.
Santosh who started in 36th position made good times in the first three waypoints making up places but unfortunately crashed out and and is said to have hit his head. Initial reports said that he was rushed to the hospital and is out of danger. Starting at 10.10 on Wednesday, and gained timeand placesin the first threeway points but crashed out at PK172, the fourth waypoint. He crossed first Waypoint PK43 in a time of 2:36 in 36th place and clocked 5:19 at PK80 to move up six places into 30 and made up another place timing 7:40 in waypoint PK125 to gain another place into 29 before the tragedy arrived as he fell and hit his head.
That leaves the other two Indians #33 Harith Noah, a product of TVS Racing, riding as a privateer here with the support of Sherco Factory team and TVS, in his second Dakar. The German-born Keralite, who is a former multiple Indian Supercross Champion, completed the day with aplomb, nevertheless losing places, in a time of 4 hours, 11minuts and 41seconds, in 68th place in Stage 4 that saw him slip to 36th from overnight 27th place on Tuesday.
Harith Noah began on a slow note today as he began in 27th position at 10:04 am. He clocked 00:02:07 in the first way point to lose three positions into 30th place and regained his 27th clocking 4min: 44sec and 7min 12sec in the next two to be back at 27th. Thereafter, he lost time before crossing the next two waypoints and issues in at the fag end to slid to 55th place and further went down to 68th clocking a timing of 4:11:41 with a 1hour 24minutes and 53seconds difference to the first placed Joan Barreda Bort of Monster Energy Honda Team 2021. After 17hours 27minutes 31seconds of riding on four days and completing four stages, Noah, is placed 36th overall. Noah is supported by TVS, Sherco, Scott India and Camelbak India.
The other Indian Ashish Raorane finished seven places later, in 75th, although in a lesser Marathon class, where he is on his own without any assistance. The Mumbai Mariner, who had to stay late on Tuesday after he had to set right a leak, did a good job to finish the course today and keep in hunt for to achieve his dream of a Dakar debut finish. Ashish clocked 4:30:46 overall and is adrift of the top riders by 1hour 43minutes and 56seconds. Ashish is sponsored by Klim, Slipstream Performance, Dosmoto, Leatt, EBC Brakes, Gaerne, Hellraiser motorwear, Goodwill Enterprises. He is in overall 80th position after four tough days. But he is place 19th of 25 riders in Original Motul Malle class. Malle a French word for Box, reminds us that Ashish can carry only a box which has a tent and other necessary equipment that is allowed as per rules including a set of tyres and has only three service volunteers and has to do all the repairs himself after a tough day. So usually a comraderie is seen between riders who all help each other so that they can complete the rally and live their Dakar Dream. Ashish is also one of the 7 rookies in his class, G2.1 Super Production class and will be carrying the Indian flag in the absence of torch-bearer CS Santosh. Noah is astride a Sherco TVS Rally Factory prepared bike 450RTR Sherco.
