Dakar 2018, stage 3: KP inside top-30, Santosh hits trouble
Sherco TVS’ Aravind KP broke inside the top-30 in the third stage of Dakar Rally, while fellow countryman CS Santosh dropped down the order with a fuel cap issue.
#53 Sherco TVS Racing Sherco: Aravind KP
Sherco Racing
Monday’s stage 3 mainly ran off-piste between Pisco and San Juan de Marcona in Peru, with a 296 km special followed by a slightly shorter 208 km liaison section.
KP, who is making his second appearance in Dakar this year, posted the 29th fastest time, completing the stage in 3hr49m01s. The result propels inside the top-30 (29th) in the overall standings.
Santosh, who was running a few places ahead of KP before the start of the stage, enjoyed a far less fruitful day. The Hero rider ran out of fuel 30 km from the flag, with investigation revealing that it was down to a loosely-fitted fuel cap.
The 34-year-old lost an hour due to the issue, mustering a lowly 98th place finish. As a result, he has dropped down to 56th position in the general standings, but has 9 more stages to claw back the lost time.
“I started with a good rhythm today, then went on with the flow in the 2nd part of the stage. I had no issues with the navigation as well,” he said.
“Unlucky for me, the rear tank cap was not closed properly after refuelling and I lost my rear tank fuel before I realised it.
“Finally, I ran out of fuel 30 km short of the finish and had to wait and ask for the fuel from some of the slower riders coming at the back. In the process I lost over an hour’s time today.”
Elsewhere, Santosh’s Hero teammate Oriol Mena was the star performer of the day, setting the 13th quickest time of the day to move up to 19th in the overall standings.
The Spaniard is now one position ahead of countryman and Sherco TVS rival Juan Pedrero Garcia, giving Hero an upper hand once against in their inter-team rivalry.
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