CS Santosh had a mixed opening day at the Afriquia Merzouga Rally, ending the day in 17th after a difficult start to the morning.
Rally rookie “J-Rod” Rodrigues delivered a steady stage, finishing the day in tenth position. The Portuguese stayed out of trouble and was quite satisfied with his result. “Today was my first rally stage”, he said. “I didn´t make too many mistakes, just one at a checkpoint. It is really difficult with the navigation and it is pretty hot out here. I´m happy to finish the way I did, it was a good experience. Tomorrow I will try to avoid mistakes and then hopefully make progress throughout the week.”
Following his result in yesterday´s prologue, CS Santosh was the first rider to enter the special test. The popular Indian had some navigational issues, but kept calm and never lost his focus. Santosh placed 17th.
“I was a bit nervous opening the track. But the team told me to go ahead and be confident. I had a good feeling, then I started to make some small mistakes. I finally found someone who handled the navigation very well, that helped me and I brought it home. The rally is very, very tough. It deserves to be part of the Dakar series. You don´t need a crystal ball to see that the next four days will be very challenging.”
Tuesday´s stage two will see the special test split into two parts. The race will move to the west of Merzouga and there will be some mountainous sections to master.
Preliminary Results Stage 1
1. Stefan Svitko, SVK, KTM 2:48:42 hrs
2. Helder Rodrigues, POR, Yamaha +2:04 min
3. Adrien van Beveren, FRA, Yamaha +4:18
4. Ricky Brabec, USA, Honda +4:20
5. Kevin Benavides, ARG, Honda +4:46
10. Joaquim Rodrigues, POR, Hero +23:32
17. CS Santosh, IND, Hero +56:25
Preliminary Overall standings
1. Svitko 2:52:07 hrs
2. Helder Rodrigues +2:04 min
3. van Beveren +4:06
4. Brabec +4:12
5. Benavides +4:33
11. Rodrigues +23:38
23. CS Santosh +56:44
