Team-BHP - C S Santosh is the first Indian to participate in Dakar Rally
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Red Bull has announced that C S Santosh will be the first Indian to take part in the prestigious and gruelling Dakar Rally.

C S Santosh is the first Indian to participate in Dakar Rally-red-bull-cs-santosh_16-december-2014-1.jpg

Bengaluru-based C S Santosh has been a regular at motocross and supercross events and dirt track events on the national circuit, with a high win rate. He won the 14th Raid de Himalaya in the first attempt and been a four-time Supercross Champion and is widely regarded as India's best rider. He has also won a number of races in the Sri Lankan and Asian Championships.

C S Santosh is the first Indian to participate in Dakar Rally-red-bull-cs-santosh-anthony-raynard_16-december-2014-5.jpg

C S Santosh will be riding a KTM 450 at the 2015 Dakar Rally. Speaking at a press meet in Mumbai, the rider said, "I'm thrilled to be the first Indian to be at Dakar. From my crash at Abu Dhabi last year, which left me with third degree burns, to standing here right now, it's been an amazing journey. Last two years have been rigorous training for me with my team at Kini Red Bull and with their support moving forward, things look exciting… the real journey starts from here."

C S Santosh is the first Indian to participate in Dakar Rally-red-bull-cs-santosh_16-december-2014-4.jpg

The Dakar Rally is an annual rally raid organized by Amaury Sport Organisation. For 2015, the Dakar organisers ASO want to take the world’s toughest race back to its origins by opening up the exhausting marathon stages to all classes. The start and finish line will be back in Buenos Aires, Argentina's capital city, which first hosted the rally in 2009. But not everything will be a nod to the past. Rest day will be in Iquique but on different days for different classes: cars and trucks will rest on January 10th, while bikes and quads on the 12th - that means more Dakar action. The Dakar 2015 makes excursions into Bolivia and Chile on a looping 9,000 km route to Termas de Río Hondo and back to Buenos Aires.

C S Santosh is the first Indian to participate in Dakar Rally-red-bull-cs-santosh_16-december-2014-6.jpg

This guy is amazing.

If you haven't already seen the powerdrift special on him, it's a must watch!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNjhJ9sA0Ps

Congratulations to Santosh and all the best to him. Have met him a couple of times and he is surely leagues apart.

All the best Santhosh.
It's great to see an Indian entry in the most prestigious event in Motorsports.

about time we made a name in this event too! all the best Santosh! make us proud.

ps: loved the video.

All the best Santosh.

Very proud and happy to see an Indian entry to the world's toughest race. Hope he will have a memorable experience.

Bravo CS Santosh for taking up the notorious and gruelling mother of all rallies the Legendary Dakar Rally. I am a die hard fan of Dakar Rally especially the car, truck and motorcycle category. It is indeed a very proud moment for a rally enthusiast like me to see a fellow Indian participate in the Dakar rally. CS Santosh needs no introduction for rally enthusiasts like me, he has made us proud in both national as well as international level. But it is an irony that in this cricket fanatic country not many know about him or his achievements in the motorcycle rally circuit.

I always used to wonder why no one from our country takes part in these kind of offroading rallies? maybe motorsports is expensive, maybe our families think motorsports is too dangerous, we don't have the infrastructure or any kind of support from anyone, lack of sponsors due to less viewership, handful of training schools for such kind of sports, etc. CS Santosh has proved all of the above wrong and has shown that YES an Indian can do it although he doesn't get the recognition that he should. It is a pity that Dakar Rally is not broadcasted here in India by any of the sports channel again due to "lack of viewership".:deadhorse Only some clips and shots of the rally are shown like bread crumbs.

It is a proud moment for us enthusiasts to see an Indian participate in the Dakar rally for the very first time. CS Santosh would be rubbing shoulders with rally veterans and legends like Marc Coma, Joan Barreda, etc. I am glad to see that he has chosen KTM 450 (KTM has the maximum no. of wins in the motorcycle category in Dakar). The bike complements him perfectly and I hope he finishes in the top 20 or even better.

I wish CS Santosh all the best. Make Us Proud.

I would like to share CS Santosh's details that have been highlighted on the official Dakar rally website.

CS Santosh on Dakar Homepage
C S Santosh is the first Indian to participate in Dakar Rally-picture-2.jpg

CS Santosh showing on the list of motorcycle competitors
C S Santosh is the first Indian to participate in Dakar Rally-picture-1.jpg

CS Santosh and his motorcycle specifications
C S Santosh is the first Indian to participate in Dakar Rally-picture-3.jpg

Last but not the least Killer lines from CS Santosh, "Life is not just about cricket!" and "If I do well, it'll show that there's isn't only cricket in India."

This is how the Dakar website puts it, "The 31-year-old hopes to fight for a Top 20 spot and show the World that India isn't only a nation of cricketers." clap:

Finishing itself is a wonderful thing at Dakar. Wish him all the best. I love the tag line, "Life is not just about cricket!"

Is KTM India/Bajaj supporting him? Will be sad to hear no.

Hi all Motorcycle aficionados, wish you all a very happy new year and as always, the first international event to begin with is the Dakar Rally. Last couple of years, I was only writing about Yamaha insights as there was nothing great on the Indian biking scene at Dakar. However, even with the lack of support to the sport it brings us immense joy to have the Indian participation at the event.

Firstly, our own Bangalore based rider who doesn't keep a count of championships he has won in our country and many achievements outside India... the man behind the BIG ROCK MOTOPARK... CHUNCHUNGUPPE SHIVASHANKAR SANTOSH, aged 31 years is riding the KTM 450 Rallye Replica KTM at Number 59...




Let us all pray for his success, may the god bless him with strong performance and the energy to fight the mighty rally!!!

On the other hand, TVS.. The Indian company that has really put the big names like Honda, Yamaha, KTM and any other name to shame in the country's motor-sport scene; is all set to debut in the Dakar 2015 in an association with Sherco. Kudos to TVS for all the hardwork and let us wish the French riders Alain Duclos and Fabien Planet a great success.

http://www.tvsapache.com/dakar2015/




Speaking about the association, Arvind Pangaonkar, Head of TVS Racing said, “We are building further on the success of TVS Racing. The racing motorcycles, christened RTR 450, will be more competitive, lightweight and equipped with highly reliable 450cc engines developed and manufactured by the team at Sherco Motorcycles along with TVS Racing specifically for the 2015 Dakar Rally. The bikes will have a better overall design with a new fairing and several additional upgrades that enhance the bike’s ride handling. Under this special racing arrangement, engineers from TVS Racing will be working alongside the team from Sherco and its racing affiliates (Mac Racing, Michelin, Selle Dalla Valle, Moto Master, Exact and F2r) at the 2015 Dakar.”

Coming to Yamaha, Frans Verhoeven, Michael Metge and Olivier Pain continue their success on Yamaha.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxtJVYvHxIc

Let us see the list of participants...

Sl no. Name
1 COMA MARC*(ESP) KTM
2 BARREDA BORT JOAN*(ESP) HONDA
3 PAIN OLIVIER*(FRA) YAMAHA
4 VILADOMS JORDI*(ESP) KTM
5 RODRIGUES HELDER*(PRT) HONDA
6 SUNDERLAND SAM*(GBR) KTM
7 GONCALVES PAULO*(PRT) HONDA
8 PRZYGONSKI JAKUB*(POL) KTM
9 CASTEU DAVID*(FRA) KTM

10 PEDRERO GARCIA JUAN*(ESP) YAMAHA
11 FARIA RUBEN*(PRT) KTM
12 ISRAEL ESQUERRE JEREMIAS*(CHL) HONDA
14 DUCLOS ALAIN*(FRA) SHERCO TVS
15 VERHOEVEN FRANS*(NLD) YAMAHA

16 GOUET DANIEL*(CHL) HONDA
17 METGE MICHAEL*(FRA) YAMAHA
18 SVITKO STEFAN (SVK) KTM
19 BOTTURI ALESSANDRO*(ITA) YAMAHA
20 VAN NIEKERK RIAAN*(ZAF) KTM
21 JAKES IVAN*(SVK) KTM
22 PIZZOLITO JAVIER*(ARG) HONDA
23 FARRES GUELL GERARD*(ESP) GASGAS
24 DE AZEVEDO JEAN*(BRA) HONDA
25 PLANET FABIEN*(FRA) SHERCO TVS
26 PRICE TOBY*(AUS) KTM
27 WALKNER MATTHIAS*(AUT) KTM
28 SALVATIERRA JUAN CARLOS*(BOL) KTM
29 SANZ PLA-GIRIBERT LAIA*(ESP) HONDA
30 GUASCH MARC*(ESP) YAMAHA
31 QUINTANILLA PABLO*(CHL) KTM
32 CECI PAOLO*(ITA) KTM
33 RODRIGUEZ CLAUDIO*(CHL) KTM
34 PABISKA DAVID*(CZE) KTM
35 STANOVNIK MIRAN (SVN) KTM
36 PIATEK JAKUB*(POL) KTM
37 VOGELS HANS (NLD) KTM
38 BERGLUND THOMAS*(SWE) KTM
39 VAN PELT ROBERT*(NLD) YAMAHA
40 PATRAO MARIO*(PRT) SUZUKI
42 RODRIGUEZ PABLO*(ARG) HONDA
44 DE SOULTRAIT XAVIER (FRA) YAMAHA
45 DA COSTA BRUNO*(FRA) YAMAHA
46 GOMEZ MAURICIO JAVIER*(ARG) YAMAHA
47 OLIVERAS CARRERAS DANIEL*(ESP) GASGAS
48 RIOS FELIPE*(PER) KTM
49 GYENES EMANUEL*(ROU) KTM
50 BUTUZA MARCEL (ROU) KTM
51 MEERU MART*(EST) HONDA
52 DEMELCHORI DIEGO*(ARG) KAWASAKI
53 PISANO MICHAEL*(FRA) KTM
54 ARREDONDO FRANCISCO (GTM) KTM
55 HEINRICH EDUARDO*(PER) SUZUKI
56 MENARD JEAN-CHRISTOPHE*(FRA) KTM
57 LAZARD LAURENT*(URY) KTM
58 PUERTAS MIGUEL*(ESP) KTM
59 CHUNCHUNGUPPE SHIVASHANKAR SANTOSH*(IND) KTM
60 CABRERA PATRICIO*(CHL) KAWASAKI
61 ONTIVEROS ALBERTO SANTIAGO (ARG) BETA
62 SOUVIGNET ROMAIN*(FRA) KTM
63 CARILLON PATRICE*(FRA) KTM
64 NIJEN TWILHAAR JAN BASTIAAN*(NLD) KTM
65 VAN DEN GOORBERGH JURGEN*(NLD) KTM
66 SAGHMEISTER GABOR*(SRB) KTM
67 DESI JANOS*(HUN) KTM
68 VESELY JAN*(CZE) KTM
69 PAYEN HUGO*(FRA) YAMAHA
70 STASIACZEK PAWEL*(POL) KTM
71 VAYSSADE FLORENT*(FRA) SHERCO
72 CAVELIUS PHILIPPE*(FRA) KTM
73 ERRAZURIZ FRANCISCO*(CHL) HUQSVARNA
74 FERNANDEZ GERMAN*(URY) KAWASAKI
75 SULLIVAN-PAVEY LLEWELLYN*(AUS) KTM
76 PAVEY SIMON*(AUS) KTM
77 GUIRAL DEMIAN*(ARG) HONDA
78 PASCUAL PABLO OSCAR*(ARG) KTM
79 ARANA COBEAGA TXOMIN*(ESP) YAMAHA
80 SARMIENTO CERON JUAN ESTEBAN*(COL) YAMAHA
81 FUENTES FABRICIO*(BOL) KTM
82 HERNIK MICHAL*(POL) KTM
83 DAMDINKHORLOO BOLDBAATAR (MNG) KTM
84 MARTENS SJAAK*(NLD) KTM
85 KAZMIERSKI MARIANO*(PER) KTM
86 GRACIDA GARZA CARLOS*(MEX) KTM
87 REINIKE MARCO*(CHL) KTM
88 VERHOESTRAETE FRANCK*(COG) SHERCO
89 THEURIOT HERVE*(FRA) KTM
90 GUZMAN ENRIQUE*(CHL) KTM
91 HEILENKOTTER AXEL*(CHL) HUQSVARNA
92 TORO JUAN SEBASTIAN*(COL) KAWASAKI
93 MILLET FREDERIC*(FRA) KTM
94 DE GROOT RICHARD*(NLD) HONDA
95 VELLUTINO CARLO*(PER) KTM
96 ROMERO FONT ROSA*(ESP) KTM
97 GIMENO GARCÍA ANTONIO (ESP) KTM
98 GULDMAN GONZALEZ CRISTOBAL ANDRES*(CHL) KAWASAKI
99 CHERPIN PIERRE*(FRA) KTM
100 CROQUELOIS ERIC (FRA) KTM
101 BOUWKNEGT JAN ROELF*(NZL) KTM
102 URQUIA SEBASTIAN ALBERTO*(ARG) YAMAHA
103 REEVE DAVID GREGORY*(ZMB) KTM
104 CORK CHRISTOPHER*(GBR) HUSQVARNA
105 CATANESE FRANCESCO*(ITA) YAMAHA
106 SEMINARA CARLO*(ITA) KTM
107 TOIA DIOCLEZIANO (ITA) KTM
108 MONIER CHARLES*(FRA) KTM
109 LACUNZA JORGE*(ARG) KTM
110 MOULIN LAURENT*(FRA) YAMAHA
111 CUYPERS CHARLES (FRA) KTM
112 ECHEVESTE KEVIN*(ARG) HONDA
113 BRIOSCHI MARCO*(ITA) KTM
114 BRIOSCHI ALBERTO*(ITA) KTM
115 LECONTE EDOUARD*(FRA) YAMAHA
116 FOURNY DIDIER (BEL) YAMAHA
117 CHINBATAAR ANAR*(MNG) KTM
118 AMESPIL LEON*(ARG) YAMAHA
119 GERA TONY (USA) KTM
120 BASSI GUSTAVO*(ARG) YAMAHA
121 SENNVANBASEL HUMPHREY (NLD) KTM
123 DELAUNAY ALAIN*(FRA) HONDA
124 REYNAUD YVAN*(FRA) HONDA
125 HINTENAUS ALBERT*(ZAF) KTM
126 VAN HEERTUM MELCHIOR (NLD) KTM
127 FERNANDEZ CARLOS*(ESP) KTM
128 FERNANDEZ MENDEZ DOMINGO*(ESP) KTM
129 VAN GERVEN JAN*(NLD) KTM
131 BEKTAS SELCUK*(TUR) KTM
132 VAN HEERTUM CASPAR*(NLD) KTM
133 DOMENACH THIERRY*(FRA) KTM
134 JACOBSEN CLAYTON*(AUS) KTM
135 VAN DAELE JEROEN*(NLD) HONDA
136 PENALVA DIEGO MARTIN*(ARG) YAMAHA
137 ZACCHETTI CESARE*(ITA) KTM
138 SCHELLEKENS CASPAR*(NLD) KTM
139 VAN BERGEIJK HENNO (NLD) HUSABERG
140 GOTTVALD ZDENĚK*(CZE) HUSQVARNA
141 KLOMP ERIK*(NLD) HONDA
143 BOSMAN WESSEL*(ZAF) KTM
144 UDRY DAMIEN (CHE) KTM
145 GARCIA MANUEL*(ESP) YAMAHA
146 AYESA MAURO*(ARG) BETA
147 BERDYSZ MACIEJ*(POL) HONDA
148 BERGLUND MIKAEL*(SWE) KTM
149 BERGLUND ANDERS*(SWE) HUSABERG
150 CASUCCIO MATTEO*(ITA) GASGAS
151 ENGEL MILAN (CZE) KTM
152 GAJDOSECH ROBERTO*(ARG) YAMAHA
153 PETRONE SERGIO MIGUEL (ARG) YAMAHA
154 PEDROLA MARC*(ESP) YAMAHA
155 SUAREZ ZAPATA JUAN*(ARG) KAWASAKI
156 SENKALAYCI SAKIR*(TUR) KTM
157 SABBATUCCI PAOLO (ITA) YAMAHA
158 MARTENS GUILLAUME (NLD) KTM
159 HAGENBLAD CARL*(SWE) KTM
160 KLYMCIW ONDREJ*(CZE) KTM
161 LOPEZ JOVE ESTEBAN ARIEL*(ARG) KAWASAKI
162 MARTINELLI GUIDO*(ARG) KAWASAKI
163 MOLANDER RALF*(FIN) KTM
164 NARINO ANTONIO (USA) HUSQVARNA
165 OZDEMIR SERKAN*(TUR) KTM
166 OZKAPLAN KORAY*(TUR) KTM
167 RIEZEBOS JASPER*(NLD) KTM
168 MORENO KRISTIANSEN MATEO*(COL) KTM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQWiIFVPBdU


So, we have a whopping 92 KTM bikes, 26 Yamahas, 18 Hondas, 8 Kawasaki bikes, 2 Sherco TVS and other bikes in small numbers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXg4CkEY0NM

The 2015 route


When it comes to the Quad Category, there are 45 participants among which 25 Yamahas steal the show with the immaculate record of 100% wins in Dakar followed by 13 Can-ams and 7 Hondas. With the best pilots still with Yamaha, no doubt this year too will be the Yamaha year in the quad category.

Not just this, Amaury Sport Organisation (A.S.O) has launched an application for your Android and IOS phones. I must say it is a brilliant app where you can track your rider, route, team etc with great information and videos.

Unfortunately none of the Indian Channels is supporting the event on television :-(

With just over a day for the mega event to start, let us wish all the riders a safe, successful and a great rally ahead....

Finally, some pics of CS Santosh's Dakar bike :-)





I would like to wish Santosh the very best. He has made us proud by representing our country in one of the most grueling races in the world. I wish him success and a safe ride.

TVS Sherco, the pride of India raised the excitement of several Motorcycle fans with their entry into the Dakar 2015. To double the excitement, French rider Alain Duclos took a respectable 5th position to end the first day of Dakar rally. His team mate Fabien Planet too did a fantastic job finishing in the 24th spot.


Even though this brings great amount of joy to TVS and all their fans, we are very curious to see how the rally fares till the end.

On the other hand, CS Santosh did a fabulous job taking 85th place with just 22 mins behind the leader. Considering his debut race, this is simply great as he is faster than half the participants. Looking at his pace, I'm sure he will just get better and better everyday and his fans has the best reason to celebrate. Once again, let us pray for his best performance.


In his words, “I had never imagined doing the Dakar. I first caught up with the rally watching it on TV. After doing a lot of motocross and supercross, I was looking for a new adventure. Offroad rallies are more than racing so the Dakar is the ultimate adventure. I have to now see if I have what it takes. I rode on World Cup races to see the level and learned a lot from these experiences. What worries me about the Dakar is the uncertainty. I really can't predict what can happen. The best thing is to try and adapt and try to bring it home every day. Nevertheless, my goal is to make it in the Top 20. I hope that the fact I'm the first Indian to do it will open the eyes of many people. Rallying is getting bigger in India and there are more and more people riding motorbikes. If I do well, it'll show that there's isn't only cricket in India.”


English rider Sunderland takes the first position astride his KTM closely followed by Paulo Goncalves on his Honda and multiple Dakar winner Marc Coma in 3rd place on his KTM.

The best finish for a Yamaha is the 13th place which really disappointed us. Olivier Pain was 3 minutes slower to the leader.

However Yamaha continues its winning habit in the Quad category by taking 9 places in top 10. Casale leads the Quad category followed by Sonik and in the 3rd place is Lafuente. I feel Yamaha cannot be challenged in the Quad category at all.

Santosh seems to have started the first stage in the 56th position and finished at the 85th. Today in the second phase which is the longest stage in the rally. He will be starting at 85th position. Let us hope that he will finish better today.
http://gaps.dakar.com/2015/dakar/stage-02/aso/ukie.php.

Sir, the bikers will cover the longest route on Stage 12 on 16th January. They will start from Termas Rio Hondo and end at Rosario. The total distance is 1024 kms out of which 726 kms is the road section and 298 kms is the Selective Section.

Today will be the longest competitive section with 518 kms for the bikes of competition section.


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