Santosh has realistic targets for Dakar 2020

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, November 26

For a relatively young team, Hero Motorsports Team Rally has punched above its weight and heading into its fourth consecutive Dakar Rally, the team is full of optimism.

Good timings and results — Joaquim Rodrigues won the 2019 Pan Africa Rally — and the addition of Paulo Goncalves, former World Rally champion, has give the team new belief. Top Indian rider CS Santosh and 2017 Dakar Rookie of the year Oriol Mena complete the team.

While the belief is running high, the tough road ahead — the 2020 edition will be held in Saudi Arabia, where the riders may have to cover around 5,000km across 12 stages — has the team treading cautiously.

Santosh’s mountain climb

Santosh has set a realistic target for himself. “The thing is that a guy like me is never going to win the Dakar. I always say that and I am very realistic about that. But I can be one of the best guys in the world… Like over years that I have competed, I have finished with really good stage times, top-20 stage times in the Dakar, which is really good,” Santosh said.

“So if I can figure amongst the top-20 in the world, for me it will be like winning the Dakar. It will be the first mountain I will like to climb and then I take it from there,” he added.

According to the 35-year-old, the biggest challenge that the team faces in Saudi Arabia is the distance, which is almost the double of this year’s edition.

“We all are apprehensive about the number of kilometres we need to cover,” he explained. “And you know that when you do that many kilometres on the limit, a lot thing can happen… So we need to be rally smart and be sensitive to the position that we are in each day stage and race.”

Mental challenge

“It will be a very big mental challenge. There is the mechanical side with so many kilometres and it will give more stress on the material (bike),” team manager Wolfgang Fischer said. “What we can do at the end of the stage when they come back to our service tent, we will do. Outside the rider needs to manage. He has to listen to his bike to take it further than before.”

Fischer said he was looking at a top-five finish. “There are over 15 riders who will be competing for the podium, so it (podium) could be sensational. But I think we want to be in the top-five, which is a realistic target,” he added.

“It is not about pure speed. It’s complete package. Reduce the mistakes, be mentally alert and be cautious with the navigation. Maybe sometimes go a notch slower and make the right decision,” he added. “And like Paulo (Goncalves) said, we have to have the patience. After making a small mistake and if you don’t keep calm it leads to a bigger mistake. You will never catch up (on lost time), you can only continue and make a good race.”