Santosh’s Dakar 2016 raid ends; TVS Sherco finding it difficult to keep up

The 2016 Dakar campaign of the Indian rally pilot CS Santosh has come to an end owing to technical issues. Alain Duclos riding for TVS Sherco has dropped to the tenth position from yesterday’s fifth while Pedrero Garcia finished fifteenth at the end of stage four.

CS Santosh had put out a valiant effort in stage three to recover from the losses due to mechanical issues climbing up to 79 from 95. As we hoped for a better ride in stage four, the Indian ace suffered more problems with the navigation tower on his Suzuki 450 RMZ giving away. We already know how important navigation is in raid rallying without which, finishing a 400-odd kilometre stage is next to impossible. He further suffered electrical issues but still managed to finish stage four.

Team TVS Sherco also had a tough time, though not as bad as CS Santosh. The riders are finding it difficult to hold positions as the competition is becoming tougher. Alain Duclos, the French rider, who was running fifth at the end of stage three has dropped five places to finish tenth. Teammate Pedrero Garcia from Spain also lost five places to finish fifteenth overall. Portuguese rider Paulo Goncalves is now leading the two-wheelers with a comfortable four and a half minute lead over Argentinian rider Kevin Benavides.

Sebastien Loeb continues his dream run through stage four with a 4:48 minute lead over compatriot Stephane Peterhansel giving Peugeot a 1-2 lead at the Dakar 2016.