After spending six days in the Bolivian Altiplano, the Dakar Rally commenced its return to Argentina with stage eight taking the rider from Uyuni to Salta. Like the previous few stages, this stage was once again modified as an overflowing river was deemed dangerous and hence the stage was split into two and shortened by 68 km on the whole.
Sherco-TVS rider Juan Pedrero put in a scintillating performance; posting the fifth fastest time of the stage, which elevated him to 20th overall. Teammate Adrian Metge also continued his recovery run, posting 25th fastest time and classified 38th overall after stage eight.
In the Hero Motorsport camp, Portuguese rider Joaquim Rodrigues continued to showcase his superb speed and meteoritic consistency, posting 16th fastest time of the stage which allowed him to break into the top 10 on his debut Dakar attempt. His teammate CS Santosh was 47th quickest, allowing him to climb up to 63rd overall in his recovery drive after a one hour penalty on day three sent him to the back of the pack.
RESULTS
Indian participation in MOTO category:
Position Rider Team
10 Joaquim Rodrigues Hero Speedbrain
20 Juan Pedrero Garcia Sherco-TVS
38 Adrien Metge Sherco-TVS
63 CS Santosh Hero Speedbrain