CS Santosh, Harith Noah take the ceremonial start; Santosh says he aims to finish Dakar 2020
Key points:
Ø 342 vehicles have been cleared to start the 42nd edition of the Dakar after three days of technical and administrative scrutineering at King Abdullah Stadium: 114 motorbikes, 23 quads, 83 cars, 46 SSVs and 46 trucks.
Ø The podium ceremony, held in front of Saudi fans on the shores of the Red Sea, brought down the curtain on the riders, drivers and crews’ stay in Jeddah.
Ø Now that the formalities and celebrations are done and dusted, the race will head north to Al Wajh, where the first stage will end after 752 km, including a 319 km special that will throw the competitors in at the deep end.
Jeddah, 4 Jan 2020: Indian rally-raid star and ace rider CS Santosh of Hero MotoSports Team Rally and Harith Noah of Sherco TVS, the two Indians at Dakar this year, rolled off the ceremonial podium on Saturday in front of thousands of enthusiastic fans assembled in the beautiful setting of the Corniche area of Jeddah, facing the majestic Red Sea, to give a cheerful send off to the competitors.
The 36-year old Santosh will be on his Number 50 Hero 450RR bike, he said: “I am quite kicked about this all-new adventure that the Dakar 2020 is offering. It’s going to be tough and from the first impressions we have got, the navigation is going to play a key role here. I have worked hard on my navigation throughout last season and the trainings and my speed has also improved a few notches. I am feeling quite confident and well prepared for the new challenge. We have got a really good team bonding going on and Paulo has been sharing a lot experience with all of us so it has really helped. I could not finish the last Dakar so I am going to try and finish what I started last time.”
The rally racing team of Hero MotoCorp, the world’s largest two-wheeler manufacturer, began its campaign at the 42nd edition of the most-grueling cross-country rally on the planet, the Dakar Rally, which came to Saudi Arabia this year. Meanwhile, the Sherco TVS Racing Rally Factory Team will have Indian Harith Noah along with Adrian Metge, Lorenzo Santolino and Jhonny Aubert.
Noah said: “I like Saudi. The people are good, the food is good and I am cannot than my team TVS enough.” Sherco TVS Racing Rally Factory Team are back for a 6th consecutive time to conquer the world’s toughest Rally Race Dakar. “This year, the race is set to be the most challenging yet, with the riders taking on perilous terrains and soaring temperatures of the middle East as we #DareToDefy the dreaded dunes of Saudi Arabia,” added the 26-year-old Noah, from Shoranur, Kerala. He won three National titles in Indian Supercross and is making his Dakar debut replacing the injure KP Aravind for TVS team.
This year Hero has a four-rider team including Santosh and first-time in Hero colors, Paulo Goncalves (Competitor no. 8) along with Joaquim Rodrigues (Competitor no. 27) popularly known as JRod, and the latest addition to team, 25-year-old Sebastian Buhler (Competition no. 32).
The wealth of experience of Paulo, the youthful exuberance of Buhler, the focus of JRod and the intensity of CS Santosh, ably supported by an experienced assistance crew, the team composition strikes just the right balance for exciting prospects at the Dakar 2020 riding on the back of some strong performances, intense training sessions and a battle tested Hero 450 RR.
Having completed all the administrative and technical checks successfully, the Team is now raring to kick start their Dakar 2020 campaign with the first stage on January 5. The first stage will take the rally from Jeddah to Al Wajh with a 319 km special stage and a total run of 752 kms including the liaisons.
A COLOURFUL PODIUM
Simply making it to the start podium ceremony is already a victory in itself for many competitors who have spent time, energy and resources preparing for the Dakar as well as possible. For them, it was a well-deserved evening before getting down to business. The families of Jeddah, used to strolling on the Corniche, enjoyed a show that interspersed the presentation of competitors and their vehicles with musical sequences and aerial acrobatics against a colourful background articulated around a series of imposing containers. The big favourites burst onto the scene after nightfall to the beat of the band Canadien covering songs such as “Born To Be Wild”, “You Can Leave Your Hat On” or “Baby You Can Drive My Car”. Local star Yazeed Al-Rajhi unsurprisingly received the most thunderous applause. The Toyota driver called on his fans to come see him on the podium in Qiddiya in two weeks… where he hopes to be top dog for real this time round.
FROM BROTHER TO BROTHER IN THE METGE FAMILY
The starting list officially confirmed that Michael Metge will not be starting what would have been his eighth (and possibly last) Dakar due to a knee injury. Sherco decided to replace him with his own brother Adrien, who has been part of the team for several years but was poised to sit out the 2020 edition. It was a dramatic twist of fate for the younger of the two Metge brothers, who had to get ready for the rally with less than a week to spare: “Thank goodness we’re brothers and are the same clothing and boot size… I’m even wearing his jacket with ‘Michael’ printed on the back!” Moments before climbing onto the podium and bringing his bike back to the secure enclosure, the biker with race number 11 already felt comfortable enough in his new role to talk about his objectives: “Last year I was a bit frustrated because I finished 22nd riding with a broken scaphoid and after being slapped with a big penalty, although my pace was good enough to crack the top 10. I hope I can keep it up after training year-round. I still feel every bit as strong even though I haven’t raced a lot this season.” Meanwhile, a few thousand kilometres away, Michael is already his brother’s most fanatical supporter.
NASSER AL-ATTIYAH: “WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND THIS RACE AGAIN”
The three-time Dakar winner stands out as the big favourite after crushing the opposition throughout the season with co-driver Matthieu Baumel at his side. Seeing the Dakar set up shop in the Middle East has boosted his already sky-high confidence and motivation. “We are here to defend our title. We’ve won three times, but I know it will be hard with this new Dakar in the Middle East. The landscapes are really beautiful here, I know some regions well. I did two races here, in 2008 and 2011, and I won both. But it won’t be easy for anyone, we need to understand this race, which is completely new for everybody. It’s a mix of terrains that reminds me of Africa, Morocco and South America. I never really thought the Dakar would one day come to our region when I started the career, and now I’m just a thirty-minute flight from home! It would be a dream to win here.”
Wolfgang Fischer, Team Manager, Hero MotoSports Team Rally: “We are quite excited to be at the Dakar 2020 for our 4th year now. For this new adventure in a completely new continent and terrain, we also have an exciting new combination of riders with Paulo, a Dakar legend in our ranks on one hand and an exciting young prospect in 25-year-old Sebastian Buhler on the other, who already has achieved a Top 20 finish in the last years Dakar. For Buhler, it was a fortunate as the two time Top 10 finisher for the team, Oriol Mena was forced to sit out of this Dakar due to injury. Joaquim has also completed his recoverynow and has comeback strongly to win the PanAfrica Rally while Santosh also recorded his best ever performance with a 5th place finish in the same rally. So, the Team has shaped up really well both mentally and physically and we are in a very positive frame of mind starting this Dakar. We can never predict an outcome in the Dakar, especially this year as it’s a new environment for all the teams, so our first aim still remains to get the riders and bikes safely across the finish line every day.”
Paulo Goncalves (Comp No: 8): “I am really excited to be a part of this new chapter of the Dakar. I have had the privilege of racing in two continents with the Dakar, and now coming to the 3rd continent of Asia, I feel honoured and blessed to be able to do this. We have had really good preparations; the Team has bonded like a family and that’s a very good thing going for us. I am very happy with my Hero 450RR and quite confident about our prospects. In the end, the first job of any rider is to bring the bike home and that’s what I will be focusing on. It is a new challenge for everyone, so patience and keeping our heads cool is going to be the key here. Looking forward to my first Dakar with Hero MotoSports Team Rally!”
Joaquim Rodrigues (Comp No: 27): “It’s a completely new challenge and I am quite excited about it. My recovery has been good and I am back to my 100% so that’s a really good feeling to have. I had a good last season, got some good experience under my belt and the win at the PanAfrica Rally boosted my confidence. We have really come together as a team in the last season with Paulo coming on board. I am quite happy with our preparations and the bike is looking good too, so we are in a good place. I am going to do my best to get my Hero home every day.”
Sebastian Buhler (Comp No: 32): “It’s going to be my first-time racing with Hero MotoSports Team Rally and I am really happy to be a part of this team. We have a great environment within the team and I have learnt so much from all these guys. To be able to ride and work with these guys and the Dakar legend Paulo, for a young rider like me, that’s a great opportunity and I am trying to make the most of it. My focus is to get as much experience out of this opportunity and try to get to the finish line in every stage.”
