India's C S Santosh today set off for the fourth time at the gruelling Dakar Rally with an aim of recording his best ever show at world's toughest off- road rally.
Riding on a vastly improved and new look Hero RR 450 bike with the Indian tri-colour imprint on it, Santosh set off from the starting line in Bib No 49 as also the his other two Hero Motorsports Team Rally teammates Joaquim Rodrigues of Portugal and Spaniard Oriol Mena Valdearcos at this Peruvian capital city.
"I believe I am having my best preparation ever and I hope to do well. I am mentally and physically prepared," Santosh said, even as he rode his bike towards the line.
"The weather is also almost similar with that in India and so I am confident I can do well. Let us see," he added.
Asked if he is expecting the best ever finish this time, he said, "Everytime I take part in a race I want to do my best. The same this time in this race also, I want to have the best ever finish."
Santosh is taking part for the fourth year in the Dakar Rally. But this is his second year with Hero Motorsports Team Rally. He finished 36th in his debut year in
2015 but failed to complete the race in his next two attempts due to problems in his bike.
Mena will be making his debut at the Dakar rally while Rodrigues finished 12th last year
Head of Hero MotoSports and Hero MotoCorp Chief Technology Officer Markus Braunsperger said the team's main target was to have a top 10 finish.
"If there is no major issues or an accident, we hope all our riders to complete the race and then a top 10 finish is our aim and it can happen. At least we can do better then last year. If that is done we will be happy," he said.
"Our CMD Mr Munjal had sent us good wishes. He is very happy about about taking part in world's toughest off-road race and India flag flying. He is in constant touch with us," he added.
The new 'Hero RR 450' rally bike made its debut at the Dakar this year. The new bike is an upgrade of the well-proven rally bike from last year, with new design and styling of tank, body parts and front section to improve mass centralization, handling and riding ergonomics.
The new 'Hero 450 RR' proved its capabilities at the OiLibya Rally in Morocco this year. The key learning from the Teams rookie year and last year's Dakar experience have been implemented in the bike.
There are several improvements in the bike, which have affected an increase in riders confidence.
Hero MotoSports Team Rally had an impressive debut year with the distinction of being the only manufacturer team with 100 percent arrivals at the 2017 edition of the Dakar Rally.
The biggest and toughest rally-raid in the world, Dakar, in its 40th edition will cross three countries, starting with Peru today and travelling through Bolivia before concluding in Argentina on January 20.
This edition will witness participation of 500 competitors from 60 countries who will cover a grueling stretch of almost 9,000 km.
Out of the overall 14 stages, seven will include 100 percent dunes/off-piste, 1 marathon stage for all categories and 1 marathon stage for bikes and quads only.
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