India is well represented at the Dakar Rally this year, with two outfits taking differing approaches to the world’s toughest motorsport event.
The participation of Sherco-TVS and Hero-Speedbrain at the Dakar Rally has probably been covered so much that there’s not a lot more to add as we count down to the 2018 edition of the event. Two Indian manufacturers, with an Indian rider each in their ranks, has been India’s highest profile motorsport venture since Narain Karthikeyan and Karun Chandhok took part in Formula 1.
What separates the two intrepid F1 drivers’ forays from that of Aravind KP and CS Santosh is that there’s a much more immediate India connect. Rallying and cross-country rallying have long been the form of motorsport that translates best to India’s varied terrain, a lot of which is still quite desolate despite the burgeoning population.
The craze of adventure touring has taken off, in no small part due to Santosh’s trailblazing 2015 Dakar participation where he finished 36th overall as a privateer KTM rider. Those with the money to afford adventure tourers think of themselves as the next Aravind or Santosh, and all of this has made early January an important time on the calendar of Indian motorsport fans.
TVS took its time before it committing to Dakar. It took Santosh breaking from their ranks and making his way to FIM Cross Country Rallies events and the Dakar, before TVS brought Aravind into the fold for the 2016 event, and to their credit they evaluated R Nataraj and Tanveer Abdul Wahid for international events.
And it was amid much fanfare that Wahid’s third place finish at the India Baja was celebrated, however Wahid was left out of this year’s squad. TVS has said that Wahid will continue to take part in international events, like the Merzouga and OiLibya Rally, but has been unclear about whether he’ll compete at the Dakar in future. Hero, meanwhile, is focusing on building on their 2017 top-10 finish.
As they prepare for their second Dakar Rally, and their factory rider CS Santosh’s fourth successive attempt, Hero MotoSports Team Rally is in high spirits. The source of that is the new Hero RR 450 rally bike developed by Speedbrain GMBH. The bike is an evolution of the Hero-Speedbrain 450 Rally that has been in use since last November.
However, since the 450 Rally was based off a bike that had been used to compete in the Dakar Rally when it was staged on routes from Southern Europe to North and Sub-Saharan Africa, the handling of the bike was not as well suited to the twistier routes found in South America – where the fabled cross-country event has been held since 2009.
“I was really excited when I heard they were improving the bike,” Santosh told autoX. “When I first saw it at the factory in Germany, I fell in love. I imagined what the bike would be like to ride based on the changes they had made to it, and when it rode the way I imagined, I fell in love again.”
In their first ever Dakar Rally participation this year, the team managed to score a 10th place finish in the overall standings for motorcycles with Portugese rider Joaquim Rodrigues. It was a remarkable debut that was made even better as CS Santosh recovered from some navigation issues at the start of the rally to finish 47th overall, making the Hero MotoSports Team Rally squad the only factory outfit to bring all their entrants to the finish.
Prior to this year’s Dakar Rally, the team had also participated in the Merzouga Rally and OiLibya Rally in Morocco as a pre-Dakar prep. This year, Santosh and Rodrigues competed with the 450 Rally at the Desert Storm and India Baja. Santosh finished first in the overall classification of the Desert Storm before a penalty dropped him to third. Rodrigues, meanwhile, was victorious in the India Baja.
Work on the evolution of the bike was already underway at that point. And the bike was finally ready to use at this October’s OiLibya Rally, where Rodrigues finished 7th overall and Santosh 15th. For the 2018 edition of the Dakar Rally, which will be the 40th running of the event, Santosh and Rodrigues will be joined by Spaniard Oriol Mena – who brings with him extensive experience competing in enduro events.
The rally will run from January 6 to 20, starting in the Peruvian capital Lima before passing through Bolivia and then concluding in Cordoba in Argentina. It’ll cover a total distance of 9,000 kilometres with 4,500 kilometres being timed special stages.
Thorough Preparation
Seven of the 14 legs of the rally will be run entirely ‘off piste,’ which means completely off-road and in the dunes. Five legs will be run at an altitude of over 3,000 meters above sea-level.
The unique challenge of the Dakar Rally has made CS Santosh pay close attention to his training and diet. Through a rigorous regimen comprising of functional strength training, endurance training and motocross riding, Santosh has managed to achieve his target of weighing in at 75kgs with just 13 percent body fat.
As part of his training, he had even visited Olympic gold medalist Abhinav Bindra’s high performance centre to study his body dynamics and learn how to move more efficiently.
“I’m willing to work with anyone who can help me get even a little bit of an edge,” said Santosh. “I feel this is the most prepared I’ve been for the Dakar so far, but I intend to be going ‘full gas’ with my preparation until just a couple of days before it starts.”
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