Rally Raid
India’s fastest rider on two wheels says Dakar 2020 will be the first time he has the experience and fitness he needs to take on the challenges of the rally successfully.
If preparation is half the battle won, CS Santosh is nearly there. The 36-year-old Indian rider has chiselled his body into shape and tweaked his bike well in time for the 2020 Dakar Rally, which begins on 5th January.
This will be Santosh’s sixth straight appearance at Dakar – widely known as the world’s toughest rally – and the one he is most excited about.
“The first time I went there, I had no idea what I was doing,” says Santosh. “This is actually the first time I’m excited because I’ve been more prepared. Over the years, I struggled with some injuries and had some back problems, which was restricting my progress."
“I had a big crash in 2010 or 2011; the years are a blur to me. But I had a crash and hurt my back, and after that, I picked up some bad habits to compensate. One thing led to another, and it became worse. Because of the back problems, I used to really suffer in most of my races. We have been working on it for the past couple of years. This is my first year when I have ridden almost pain-free finally my body is in a good state.”
Even as he is physically feeling as good as new, Santosh takes comfort in the fact that he has also spent more time this year testing and tuning his bike – the custom-made Hero 450 Rally motorbike. Santosh, who will be representing Hero MotorSports Rally team, tested the bike on the sand dunes of Morocco, hoping to gauge the pulse of it.
“We test for better handling with the bike,” he says. “We test some various other components, but overall it makes us feel more comfortable on the motorcycle, that’s the most important thing.”
The bike is going to be his best friend on the long, winding course.
Challenges of Dakar 2020
In motorsports, Dakar presents a challenge like no other. Competitors have to traverse tough obstacles and diverse terrain, at an average of 350 kilometres per day for 13 days. It takes them through the loneliest of paths and darkest of places.
Thierry Sabine, who founded the rally in 1979, said it was, “A challenge for those who go. A dream for those who stay behind.”
There will be another layer to this challenge, as the Dakar enters the Middle East for the very first time. Having passed through Europe and Africa, and South America for the past ten years, the rally will take place in Saudi Arabia in 2020.
Dakar’s official website declares, somewhat ominously, that, “The drivers and crews will be facing a total of 7,500 km, including 5,000 km of specials, five of them longer than 450 km. In a country where the desert is king, 75% of the rally will be over sand, all types of sand.”
“It’s new for everyone,” says Santosh, who has never ridden in Saudi Arabia before. “The first time the country is opening to foreigners; it’s usually very difficult to go to Saudi Arabia. So we will be the first wave of people to go there and see what Saudi is like. So no idea what the terrain and race are going to be like.”
Santosh travelled to Saudi Arabia on 31st December, giving himself some time to acclimatise and familiarise with the new course. The shifting dunes are a treacherous proposition. It was in the neighbouring United Arab Emirates – Abu Dhabi to be exact – during the World Cross Country Rally Championship in 2013, where Santosh’s bike caught fire, and he suffered burn injuries.
“I don’t even remember my crashes,” says Santosh nonchalantly. “We forget easily. We have a selective memory, so we only remember the good things that happen to us. So I usually don’t think about it (when riding in the sand).”
Bad memory and good speed seem to be some of the key ingredients in the thrilling, unpredictable, and the sometimes fatal world they live in. Over the years, the Indian has suffered countless injuries, including a toe and shoulder injury on his Dakar debut in 2015, and a nasty crash, which knocked him out cold for almost 45 minutes, in 2019.
Learning to appreciate life through the rally
The attrition rate at Dakar is incredible. In 2019, a total of 334 vehicles (including 137 bikes) started the race, and only 180 vehicles (including 75 bikes) made it to the finish line. More seriously, though, 28 competitors and a total of 70 people have lost their lives during the event over the years.
“We don’t address the dangers, we are very ignorant to it,” Santosh had said in an earlier interview. “We don’t acknowledge it. Everybody is always looking to do their best and Dakar is such a race that it allows something for everybody, be it the dunes or dirt roads or fast stretches. Everybody knows that at the end of the day, the strongest man is going to win. I don’t know about negatives. If there is life, there is death. But we don’t think about it. I understand how precious life is because I go out there and I race. I love my life; I don’t do it because I’m crazy or don’t love my life. By racing, I enjoy it that much more.”
The lurking dangers of an event like the Dakar, which are inevitable, are neatly tucked away in the back of the mind as the competitors navigate from point A to B, in the shortest time possible. For almost a fortnight, they live in a bubble, pumped with adrenaline and pain killers. Ride, read (the roadmap), rest, repeat. There is no one cheering on the sidelines and no time to take in the unspoiled beauty of the surroundings.
“The good memories are now actually just the feeling that I have with the motorcycle,” says Santosh. “Sometimes, when you are in the desert, you appreciate the vastness of it, but they are all just like glimpses. We don’t really take in everything. I am racing 100-110kph down a dirt road, I can’t really take it all in, but I take the essence of it in. Most of the time, what I really enjoy is the feeling that I have with the motorcycle. When you are riding on the limit of your own potential, and when you have a good flow, it’s an incredible feeling. You feel really alive; I love that feeling and want to have that a lot more.”
The most successful cross-country rider in the country, Santosh, back in 2015, became the first Indian to ride in the Dakar and is the only one to finish it thrice. His best was in 2018 when he finished in 34th position. The Bengaluru-based rider has recovered well since his crash at the 2019 Dakar and even rode to his first top-five finish at the PanAfrica Rally in September. Though this is the most upbeat he has felt going to Dakar, Santosh, who well knows the perils of the raid, is coy about putting a number on it.
“Every rally is new, every Dakar is as challenging as they come,” he says. “I just want to go fast. I want to go fast in the Dakar; that will give me a lot of pleasure. Definitely want to finish it. That’s the two things I want to do. I have the experience. I have spent a lot of years now racing cross-country. So I want to be able to use all that experience to make it my best Dakar, which is my sixth one, this year.”