Pan Africa Rally: Rodrigues Gives Hero MotoSports Maiden Win of Season

Merzouga (Morocco), Sep 27 (PTI) Hero MotoSports Team Rally on Friday emerged victorious at the 2019 Pan Africa Rally for its maiden of the season.

Team rider Joaquim Rodrigues was crowned the winner after a consistent run throughout the six days and 1500 kms of the rally. This is his second international victory with Hero MotoSports, the first one being BAJA India in 2017.

Rodrigues has had a solid season so far, following a painful and long recovery from his crash in the Dakar 2018. This win puts him in good stead for the remaining two big rallies of the season including the Dakar Rally 2020.

His team mate, the only other rider for the team in this rally, CS Santosh also had a memorable rally as he achieved his personal best and the best ever result by an Indian in a rally outside the country.

His fifth place finish was the outcome of some gritty and consistent performances across all the five stages.

The next stop for Hero MotoSports will be the Rally Du Maroc in October, which is considered to be the last training round before the Dakar Rally.

"It's been a really good race for me. I was consistent and getting better with every stage. You always push yourself to do better than before, race your own limits. Finishing fifth here today is very satisfying. I am quite happy with the way this season has progressed and with my training, so all we have to do now is to build on it to the Dakar.

"Big congratulations to my buddy JRod for a fantastic win and a big thanks to the awesome team here and our fans," said Santosh. PTI

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)