Maruti Suzuki Desert Storm 2018: CS Santosh Crashes Out In Stage 3

Following Santosh's injury, as a precautionary measure, Hero MotoSports Team Rally has decided to pull out of the rally. The team has taken this decision keeping rider safety as the top priority. Santosh was the sole rider from Hero participating in the rally.

Santosh was leading the 2018 Desert Storm after the end of stage 2. But unfortunately, he met with a crash during the third stage of the rally, which left him with a neck injury.

The on-ground team of doctors have stated that there are no signs of any major injury. However, Santosh has to go through detailed checkup. He will be moved to Bangalore for further scans and treatment.

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In stage 3 of the 2018 Desert Storm, Santosh was is a good rhythm and was building up a healthy lead of ten minutes over his closest rival. Despite the injury, Santosh managed to bring the bike to the stage finish fighting through the pain.

Santosh said, "I was doing really well today prior to the crash. There was a lot of dust around and the visibility was not good. I could not spot a sand bank that suddenly appeared and I crashed quite hard. There is a sharp pain in my neck and movement is very restricted."

DriveSpark's Thoughts On Santosh's Crash

The Desert Storm Rally is one of the toughest rally in India with harsh terrain and weather conditions. Santosh crashed due to extensive dust on the stage as he could not spot a sandbank lying ahead. He was on course for a good result and it is unfortunate to end the rally like this. We wish Santosh a speedy recovery.