Hero Motosports Team Rally keeps it steady in stage 3 of the Dakar Rally

Continuing their sound run in the 2021 Dakar Rally, the rider trio from Hero MotoSports Team Rally turned in another good performance in the third stage of the rally today. Joaquim Rodrigues finished the stage in the 20th place, Sebastian Buhler came in 21st and Santosh closed the stage in the 36th place.

Joaquim Rodrigues led the team standings today as well, continuing to grow in confidence. In a predominantly sandy stage, he retained his Top 20 position in the overall rankings at the end of Stage 3.

Sebastian Buhler also kept it steady throughout the stage to retain his 24th position in the overall rankings while C S Santosh tackled another long stage really well to gain a couple of positions in the overall rankings. He now stands at the 34th position.

It is still early days in the Dakar 2021 but the growing confidence of JRod, consistency of Buhler and determination of Santosh coupled with the flawless performance of the new Hero 450 Rally bike bodes well for the team’s prospects in the upcoming stages.

Up next, the rally will move out of the Wadi Ad-Dawasir to the capital city of Riyadh for the longest stage of the rally covering 813 kms, including the transport section. The timed special will be relatively shorter at 337 kms.

Joaquim Rodrigues (Competitor No. 27) said, « Today was a lonely stage for me as I was riding alone for most part of it. It was quite windy as well and the tracks kept getting covered so I decided to slow down and concentrate on my navigation. Overall, I am happy to get my bike to the finish safely and see the back of one more stage. »

C S Santosh (Competitor No. 50) said, « Today’s was another long and fast stage. It was mostly about sitting back and opening the full throttle. Because of the wind, the visibility was not that great so it was tough to go full gas all the way. It wasn’t very enjoyable for me but I am happy to have put in a good stage today and also probably the best three days in the Dakar. »

Sebastian Buhler (Competitor No. 24) said, « Today’s stage was very good as it was similar to what we did yesterday with nice open sandy tracks and some stones in between. Overall, I think the bike is performing very well in these conditions so I am happy with how it has gone for us so far. »

Provisional Rankings – Stage 3
1. Toby Price, RedBull KTM Factory Team, 03h 33m 23s
2. Kevin Benavides, Monster Energy Honda Team, +03m 16s
3. Matthias Walkner, RedBull KTM Factory Team, +04m 36s…
20. Joaquim Rodrigues, Hero MotoSports Team Rally, +17m 28s…
21. Sebastian Buhler, Hero MotoSports Team Rally, +18m 03s
36. C S Santosh, Hero MotoSports Team Rally, +30m 52s…

Provisional Overall Rankings at the end of Stage 3
1. Skyler Howes, Bas Dakar KTM Racing Team, 12h 05m 48s
2. Xavier De Soultrait, HT Rally Raid Husqvarna Racing, +28s
3. Toby Price, RedBull KTM Factory Team, +52s…
19. Joaquim Rodrigues, Hero MotoSports Team Rally, +21m 02s…
24. Sebastian Buhler, Hero MotoSports Team Rally, +39m 16s…
34. C S Santosh, Hero MotoSports Team Rally, +01h 36m 52s…

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