CS Santosh failed to finish at the 2016 edition
of Dakar Rally and that’s only made him hungrier
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| CS Santosh trains at the Sam Dunes in Jaisalmer (Image credit: Ali Bharmal/Red Bull Content Pool) |
Finishing at a
respectable 36th place, CS Santosh tasted success at his very firstDakar rally in 2015 . This year however, he had
contrasting result. His Suzuki was marred with issues from the very first day
and at the 12th stage, he machine finally gave up. While the Dakar website
shows a ‘DNF’ against Santosh Chunchunguppe Shivashankar’s name and though the
man himself terms his 2016 outing as a “huge disappointment”, there were quite
a few positives too.
Speed
Unlike in 2015, this year showcased Santosh
to be a lot more confident a lot more complete rider. He was attacking from day
1. On hindsight, he thinks it was a bad decision because since he was in attack
mode even during harsh part of the rally, he ended up filling up his air box
with some fresh water at one of the river crossings. However it was this
attacking attitude which took him from 128th position at the end of
the first stage to 79th place on the fourth stage – his last day on
the saddle. This, despite CS Santosh admitting that “The Suzuki lacked top end
speed; it was short by at least 40 km on KTM.”
As I stayed back and saw other riders finishing the race, it lit a fire inside me. I have a lot of belief that one day I’m going to be one of the top guys.
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| Santosh during one of his training sessions (Image Credit: Ali Bharmal / Red Bull Content Pool) |
Never-say-die
attitude
Last year, the world saw a rider who just
didn’t want to give up even when he had fractured his foot and had to be lifted
off his bike. This year, the Bangalorean left started right from where he left
off last year. His bike had a number of problems and yet he was intent on
making it work. “For 40 km I was riding with one hand with the navigation tower
in the other. The tower was moving all over and the wiring kept getting short
circuited at regular intervals. I almost had to walk my bike across the finish
line at the check point of stage 4,” said the 32-year-old. Unfortunately, it being
a marathon stage, he couldn’t get any help from his crew bringing a premature
end to his race.
Physically
fit
While CS Santosh has always had an athletic
built, after the Dakar 2015, he realized that if he were to succeed to Dakar,
he’ll had to raise his fitness level. He’s spent the better part of 2015
working on his stamina to make sure that his body can last through those
gruelling marathon stages of Dakar. This meant that despite a disappointing
early finish, not even once he felt that his body would give it up. The failing
of the human element was out of contention. Alas, it was the machine element
that failed him.
Hungry
for success
“I was initially very disappointed [after
my race ended at stage 4]. But as I stayed back and saw other riders finishing
the race, it lit a fire inside me. I have a lot of belief that one day I’m
going to be one of the top guys. I don’t just want to be at the top, I also
want to earn respect,” these were the words of the 2015 Raid de Himalaya
champion.
Focussed
planning
It seems that CS has got it all planned out
for rest of the year. There are bunch of things on his check list for 2016 to
make him a better rider. When asked about his plans for 2016, Santosh said with
conviction, “This year I HAVE to do two rounds of Cross Country Championship,
mostly, it’ll be Morocco and Chile rounds. I also want to stay in Morocco and
ride for at least 10-15 days.”
Looks like CS Santosh has figured out that there’s no point crying over spilled milk or a submerged air box. Though he had an early sunset at this year’s Dakar, for him, the 2016 just begun.
Disclaimer: This article was first published on RedBull.com.
