Merzouga Rally 2017: Hero MotoSports And Sherco TVS Stage 3 Updates

Hero MotoSports rider Joaquim Rodrigues started the stage well, but a puncture in the bike's cooling system forced him to stop, and he lost time.

Making things worst, he was caught in the middle of the sandstorm, and he stopped in the stage. Rodrigues finished the stage and is in 16th position in the overall standings.

Indian rider CS Santosh struggled with a malfunction in his roadbook equipment causing him a delay in finishing the 1st loop. The 2nd loop was much better for Santosh, but he too got caught in the storm just a few kilometres before the stage finish. Santosh finished the day in 15th position in overall standings.

Santosh said, "Today was going to be a relatively short day with just 2 stages and a lot of navigation. I started the stage really well and I was able to catch the rider in front but then a malfunction happened in the remote that controls the road book and the echo to the odometer."

Leading the charge in the Sherco TVS camp is Juan Pedrero, he finished the stage three in 11th position. His teammate Adrien Metge completed the stage in the fourth position. Pedrero is in the fifth position in the overall standings.

The battle between the two Indian TVS riders is getting intense. Debutant Abdul Wahid once again outpaced Aravind KP in stage three. Wahid moved up to 28th overall and Aravind is right behind him in 29th position.