Dakar 2020: Hero and TVS riders within the top 25 overall after second stage

While their riders in the elite category focused on getting through a stage that was lined with rocks, both Hero MotoSports Team Rally and the Sherco-TVS Racing squads saw riders making big gains at the conclusion of the second of 12 stages of the 2020 Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia.

Hero’s Paulo Goncalves was 12^th fastest in the 367km special stage that took the field from Al Wajh to Neom, which helped him secure a ranking of 14^th in the overall classification. Sherco-TVS’ Adrien Metge was 19^th in the stage, giving him 16^th overall.

Hero’s Sebastien Buhler was 22^nd in the stage, allowing him to improve six spots in the overall classification to 25^th.

Sherco-TVS’ Johnny Aubert was 23^rd in the stage timings, keeping him within the top 20 at 19^th overall while his teammate Lorenzo Santolino was 24^th overall after taking 18^th spot in the stage.

Hero’s Joaquim Rodrigues has been entered into the ‘Dakar Experience’ category after being forced to retire in the opening stage itself, something that disqualifies a rider from contending for overall honours. J-Rod, as the Portugese has been nicknamed, was 47^th fastest in the stage as he rides simply to support the team’s other riders.

The two Indians in the field experienced contrasting fortunes. Hero’s CS Santosh had started the day 39^th overall after crashing towards the end of the opening stage, which resulted in an injured right hand.

Santosh rode through the pain over the rocky terrain but dropped 36 places by the first waypoint, which came 52km into the stage. By the second way point, 52km later, Santosh regained 16 places and ultimately made it through the remaining four waypoints to be 54^th fastest.

The 35-year-old felt the pain throughout the stage on his right hand and tried to get to the finish without any additional drama.

Speaking of the dramatic, however, TVS Racing’s Harith Noah made dramatic gains as he secured the 52^nd fastest stage time. Given that he was 105^th overall after the opening stage following a crash that left him with a lot of bruising and swelling around his left eye, the stage performance allowed him to rise up to 65^th overall.

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The third stage tomorrow will see the competitors take a looping route that will start in Neom and end there as well, with a massive 427km timed section.