CS Santosh had a good day in office as he moved up 10 places in the overall classification at the end of the 2nd stage at the Dakar 2017. KP Aravind on the other hand had a terrible day, as he crashed and suffered a wrist fracture as per latest reports.

Stage 2 was 803 km long, with 275 km of it being timed. The riders started from Resistencia bivouac and went to San Miguel De Tucuman. While Santosh made up ground, his teammate had problems with his GPS, as it got drowned in water and didn’t work. Yet he finished a commendable 22nd at the end of the stage. Overnight rains ensured that the track was filled with water in unexpected places which was not marked on the riders roadbook. This meant that they were a bit cautious in the first half of the day.

The stage was won by Toby Price, last year’s Dakar winner, as he took the lead in the overall classification as well. Paulo Goncalves took second on his Honda,  Xavier De Soultrant took third on his Yamaha. 4th was Sam Sunderland on his KTM, while 5th went to a Husqvarna with Pablo Quintanilla on board.

TVS Sherco rider Juan Garcia Pedrero finished the second stage in a fantastic 11th, just 8 minutes  9 seconds behind the fastest time set by Price. KP Aravind finished in 127th spot at the end of the stage after his crash. According to a report on Zigwheels, Aravind will be continuing in the Dakar rally even after the crash.

Joaquim Rodrigues, Hero Motosports Team Rally, Hero Speedbrain, “This stage was more difficult than yesterday because there were a lot of unmarked water puddles in the stage. I slid out in one of these and crashed my bike. My GPS got drowned in water and stopped working. Without the GPS I was running the risk of a crash. So, I slowed down. But I managed to get to the end relying on my road book,”

C.S. Santosh, Hero Motosports Team Rally, Hero Speedbrain, “It was the first real stage of the Dakar and it was really fast. In the first half, there were a lot of cautions and there were lots of water puddles that were not on the roadbook. So, I took it easy in that bit and in the latter half of the stage I started getting a good feeling and was able to catch some guys. But it was really dusty. It was a kind of stage where you could pay a big price for a small mistake and ruin your rally.”

Toby Price, KTM – “Today was a whole different day. There was a lot of speed; a lot of fast roads and it was really dusty. We also had to deal with a lot of animals. It wasn’t a tricky day in navigation but you can’t put a cow in the road book and it becomes difficult when they are popping out at you. But it’s good to get to the finish with this heat.”

Laia Sanz, KTM – “I was not taking risks and I went too slow, but I didn’t feel really confident. I like it when it is fast but there were a lot of obstacles and mud and it was dangerous because you also couldn’t see too well.”

The third stage that will be run from San Miguel De Tucuman to San Salvador Jujuy will see dramatic changes in temperature and altitude. On the 780-km stage, out which 416 km will be marked by competitive distance, the riders will climb rapidly in the Andes, reaching the maximum height of this Dakar at 5,000 metres during a crossing of a high pass, before finishing the special at 3,000 metres.

Stage 2 Classification:

1 PRICE TOBY (AUS) KTM 450 RALLY REPLICA 02h37m32s
2 GONÇALVES PAULO (PRT) HONDA CRF450RALLY 02h41m23s +03m51s
3 DE SOULTRAIT XAVIER (FRA) YAMAHA WR 450 F 02h41m38s +04m06s
4 SUNDERLAND SAM (GBR) KTM 450 RALLY REPLICA 02h41m51s +04m19s
5 QUINTANILLA PABLO (CHL) HUSQVARNA FR 450 RALLY 02h42m20s +04m48s
6 SVITKO STEFAN (SVK) KTM 450 RALLY REPLICA 02h42m26s +04m54s
7 BRABEC RICKY (USA) HONDA CRF 450 RALLY 02h43m12s +05m40s
8 BARREDA BORT JOAN (ESP) HONDA CRF450RALLY 02h43m57s +06m25s
9 FARRES GUELL GERARD (ESP) KTM 450 RALLY 02h44m58s +07m26s
10 FAGGOTTER RODNEY (AUS) YAMAHA WRF 450 02h45m22s +07m50s
11 PEDRERO GARCIA JUAN (ESP) SHERCO TVS RTR 450 02h45m41s +08m09s
12 VAN BEVEREN ADRIEN (FRA) YAMAHA WR450F 02h45m47s +08m15s
13 WALKNER MATTHIAS (AUT) KTM 450 RALLY REPLICA 05m00s 02h45m54s +08m22s
14 CERVANTES MONTERO IVAN (ESP) KTM RALLY 02h48m10s +10m38s
15 MONLEON ARMAND (ESP) KTM 450 RR 02h48m31s +10m59s
16 BOTTURI ALESSANDRO (ITA) YAMAHA WR 450 F 02h48m52s +11m20s
17 JAKES IVAN (SVK) KTM 450 RALLY REPLICA 02h49m06s +11m34s
18 DUPLESSIS DIEGO MARTIN (ARG) KTM 450 RALLY EXC 02h49m35s +12m03s
19 RENET PIERRE ALEXANDRE (FRA) HUSQVARNA FR 450 RALLY 02h49m59s +12m27s
20 KLYMCIW ONDREJ (CZE) HUSQVARNA HUSQVARNA FR 450 RALLY 02h50m13s +12m41s
22 RODRIGUES JOAQUIM (PRT) HERO SPEEDBRAIN 450 RALLY 02h51m53s +14m21s
41 CS SANTOSH (IND) HERO SPEEDBRAIN 450 RALLY 03h07m41s +30m09s
123 METGE ADRIEN (FRA) SHERCO TVS RTR 450 04h25m38s +01h48m06s
127 PRABHAKAR ARAVIND (IND) SHERCO TVS RTR 450 04h34m38s +01h57m06s