“See, another crash! I fell about 10 times in all that slush. What’s the point if I don’t feel good and don’t push it? I am trying to be safe but I must ride in that zone which allows me to retain my own self respect.”

Imagine if there was a boxing match that ran for 14 days straight. Imagine if there was a 2 week football game where you could get off the field only at night. Imagine if you and your motorcycle were let loose for a fortnight in a jungle of rocks and rivers and slush and rain and sand and scalding heat and freezing cold, and you had to find your own way through it all, while trying your best to not die, but also be as fast as possible.



Welcome to Dakar.

Since its inception in 1978, over 60 people have died during the course of this rally-raid. Competitors have to cross anywhere from 200 to 900 kms in a day, on terrains where people like you and me wouldn’t dare to cross 10 kmph. Less than 50% of people who start the rally make it till the end.

“The race originated in December 1978, a year after Thierry Sabine got lost in the Ténéré desert whilst competing in the Abidjan-Nice rally and decided that the desert would be a good location for a regular rally.”

You have to appreciate the sheer amount of madness that has to be flowing through your veins to do something like this. Sabine organized the rally till 1986, which was then taken over by his father after he died in a helicopter crash during the event. This is a race that had to be cancelled in 2008 due to “terrorist threats” in the regions the participants were supposed to go through. This is a race Osama Bin Laden’s son attempted to be a part of. This is a race in which Fabrizio Meoni, who won the race in 2001 and 2002, crashed and died during the 2005 event.

Dakar is not like MotoGP or Formula 1, it’s not a competition that’s welcomed with open arms. The race has been described as “vulgar display of power and wealth in places where men continue to die from hunger and thirst.” and “colonialism that needs to be eradicated”. But people still do it.

Baye Sibi, a 10-year-old Malian girl, was killed by a racer while she crossed a road. A film crew’s vehicle killed a mother and daughter in Mauritania on the last day of the race. Racers were blamed for starting a wildfire that caused a panic on a train running between Dakar and Bamako, where three more people were killed. A five-year-old Senegalese girl was hit and killed by a service lorry after wandering onto a main road. A 10-year-old boy died while crossing the course after being hit by a car driven by Latvian Māris Saukāns. A 12-year-old boy was killed after being hit by a support lorry. A woman watching the Dakar Rally was killed when a vehicle taking part in the race veered off the course and hit her during the opening stage.

Why do people still do it? To answer that question, all you have to ask yourself is “Why does anyone do anything?”. There are people who spend their life in the safety of certainty, each day doing the same things till they die. There are people who like a bit of adventure, but only enough to get their heart racing for a second. Then there are people who spend their life on the edge, one move away from certain death. The last kind may not live long, but they do truly live.

CS Santosh is one of them.

The 31 year old, 6 foot, 72 kg lad from Karnataka has been the lone wolf in the Indian adventure biking scene since the last 10 years. He started participating in international events from 2010, winning India’s toughest rally, the Raid De Himalaya, in an incredible first attempt. He then went on to bag 9th position in the World Cross Country Championship, which is like a proving ground for future Dakar participants.

Riding a number 59 KTM 450 rally bike and supported by Red Bull, CS Santosh became the first Indian to participate in the history of Dakar, which is going on as you read this, through Argentina, Chile and Bolivia on a looping 9,000 km route, ending January 17 2015.

Did he bite more than he could chew?

Out of the 160 riders, he started in 85th position. By the end of stage 2 he had climbed up to 50th. Stages 4 and 5 saw him jump up the order, while he fell multiple times injuring his left shoulder and getting a bleeding nose. 15 kilometers into Stage 6, he had a bad fall while overtaking and got a fracture on the big toe of his left foot. What does he do about that? Three injections, tight taping, and an unbelievable 64th position at the end of the 318 km stretch. And the story doesn’t end there.

Through the 784 kms long treacherous stage 8, which required him to service/repair his bike without any support, he recorded his best finish yet, ending in 32nd position after starting from 65th. In the following stages he would have to jump start his bike, nearly get swept away by a freak river, injure his right shoulder, and spend 30 minutes draining the air box and changing the filter. Once he made it to the destination, he had no energy left, even to get off the bike. Shivering and unable to speak, he was warmed up with a good shower and some traditional Bolivian clothes.

“It’s just getting to be crazy. Even in the best physical shape of my life I am so tired that I can hardly stand. The Dakar is excruciating,” “See, another crash! I fell about 10 times in all that slush. What’s the point if I don’t feel good and don’t push it? I am trying to be safe but I must ride in that zone which allows me to retain my own self respect.” “It’s all these pills I am popping. I can’t feel any pain. So I am going full pep where I can.” “It’s ok, I can handle it.”

As we speak, CS Santosh stands at 36th position, with a few more stages to go. You may think “36th only?”, but that would only mean you don’t see the complete picture.

KTM Factory rider and one of the upcoming stars of Dakar Sam Sunderland crashed out of the rally in stage 4. The British rider suffered collarbone and shoulder injuries. 39 year old Polish competitor Michal Hernik died while racing stage 3 of the course, his body was found roughly 300 meters off the course’s path. Tests performed later by doctors suggest that Hernik succumbed to dehydration and hypothermia. He was an experienced rider, but this was his first Dakar outing. CS Santosh shared his spare tyre set with race leader and 4 time Dakar champ Marc Coma, without which he may have lost a lot of time, if not the rally.

Everyone crashes, only some ride again. Which brings us to the second part of this article.

Why should you give a fuck?

You don’t have to. Chunchunguppe Shivashankar Santosh doesn’t care, I don’t care, nobody does. All you have to do is remember that while you drool over Kohli’s advertisements or mourn Dhoni’s retirement or celebrate Ronaldo’s Ballon d’Or, there’s somebody out there representing India, doing something that’s never been done before, without getting much support from the media or sponsors.

CS Santosh is a pioneer in the Indian motorcycling world, what he has achieved is even bigger than winning the Isle of Man TT or the MotoGP world championship in my opinion. Dakar represents the epitome of human lunacy, IOMTT feels like kids playing in the park in front of it. Being part of it is an honor that very few people deserve. I don’t care what position he ends up with, or if he finishes the race at all, I will always respect him for his heavy, hairy, hamburger sized balls.

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UPDATE: He did it! CS Santosh has unbelievably completed the Dakar rally in his first attempt, finishing a remarkable 36th!