CS Santosh in good spirits after finishing 553-km Stage 5; Harith Noah has a good run: #Dakar2020
Ha’il (Saudi Arabia), 9 Jan 2020: Ace Indian rally-raid rider CS Santosh saw another successful day finishing Stage 5 in 38th position that brought a smile to the 36-year Bengalurean as he finished at 39 in the overall ranking for bikes in the Dakar Rally on Thursday.
The first Indian to take part and finish Dakar Rally represents Hero MotoSports Team Rally and is participating in his sixth straight Dakar. “Initially, the stage had too many rocks but I had a long but good day. I am looking forward for the next stage,” said the Red Bull athlete. “And it is nice to have company towards the end,” he said of the other Indian Noah finishing with him. Sanatosh took 4 hours, 50 minutes and 28 seconds to complete the 353-km of the Special Stage 5 of the total 553km. Santosh is sponsored by Sidvin, Fast Indian, Scott, Track & Trail and Cannondale.
The other Indian in the fray, Harith Noah of Sherco TVS Rally Factory Team packed up on Day 3, but rejoined to take part in the non-competitive Dakar Experience Class. Today, he finished a spot ahead of Santosh in 38th place but it will not count towards the overall ranking as his missed Stage 3 when his bike refused to start the stage due to technical issues on Tuesday. Noah clocked 4:49:44.
Tomorrow’s stage six will be the second-longest of the 2020 Dakar Rally, totalling 830 kilometres with a 477-kilometre special. In a change to previous days, the special stage will be ridden entirely on sand, which will test the bikes and riders as they head south-east from Ha’il to Riyadh. Once completed, it will mark the halfway point of the event ahead of Saturday’s rest day.
Provisional results: Dakar Rally 2020, stage 5
1. Toby Price (KTM) 3:57:33
2. Pablo Quintanilla (Husqvarna) 3:58:45 +1:12
3. Andrew Short (Husqvarna) 4:00:04 +2:31
38. Harith Noah (Sherco TVS)Â 4:49:44;
39. CS Santosh (Hero MotoSports) 4:50:28.
