The defending Raid de Himalaya two-wheel champ is not a happy man. That is apparent even on the phone when the subject of his near fatal accident in April's Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge is brought up.
Taking part in his first ever International Motorcycle Federation (FIM) sanctioned cross-country event, CS Santosh was two days away from completing the 2,400 kilometer event that has Dakar Rally winner Marc Coma among its list of winners.
However, by his own admission, Santosh's "greed" got the better of him as his Suzuki 450 RMX developed electrical problems on the penultimate day. His single-minded desire to get into the top-15 of the classification meant that Santosh did not notice a fuel overflow that lead to an intense blue-flame, which ended up causing him third-degree burns.
Speaking to autoX from Bangalore, Santosh described what went through his mind during his desperate attempts to put out flames that he could feel inside his helmet before finally putting them out.
"I started to think of all the movies and cartoons in which I had seen stuff like this happening," said Santosh. "I couldn't believe it was happening to me. Finally I had to literally dig a hole and bury myself in the sand to put it out for good."
The near death experience may be behind him now, but Santosh has yet to move on from the biggest regret of the event that was held from April 4-11.
"I should have been just thinking about finishing the event," said Santosh. "I knew the bike was having electrical problems and I could feel it losing power every now and again.But I wanted a top-ten finish so I just went for it instead of being careful."
The 29-year-old's road to recovery from the burns that extend to the back of his neck is far from straight-forward though.
Additional surgery for a skin graft and doctor's orders to not expose himselfto prolonged sunlight for three months has Santosh feeling a little downcast.
His desire to bounce back is very much intact, however. "I want to be ready to compete in the Raid this October," said Santosh. "And after that I want to go back to the Desert Challenge because I know I can get a top 10 and top 15 finish.
"Getting such a finish would be a boost to my ultimate aim of competing in the Dakar."
Having spoken to Santosh prior to his departure for the Desert Challenge, 2015 had been set as the target for participating in the ultimate cross-country event in the world – the Dakar.
The apparent determination in his voice would make it foolish to bet against that happening.
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