Blood, Sweat & Tears

CONSIDERED THE TOUGHEST race in the world, this year’s Dakar rally was held in Saudi Arabia, bringing with it new terrain and new challenges. Competitors faced extreme temperatures and unending deserts as they covered over 7,500 kilometres in 14 days of racing.

Stage One, held from Jeddah to the city of Al Wajh, ran north along the western coast of the desert nation, taking the racers across constantly changing terrain that included vast sandy stretches, dunes and sudden rocky sections that caught quite a few competitors off guard. One of them was CS Santosh, riding for the Hero MotoSports Team Rally, who hit a rock early on in the stage and went down, painfully twisting his right wrist in the process. He dusted himself off and still managed