Dakar 2018: CS Santosh, Aravind KP And Stage 3 Updates

Indian rider CS Santosh lost a lot of time in the third stage as he ran out of fuel just 30km from the finish line. A loose fuel cap was the cause of this mishap. He managed to finish the stage in 98th spot and slipped to 56th position in the overall standings. With nine more stages to go, Santosh will aim to make up for the lost time.

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Santosh's teammate Oriol Mena had a good at the office and finished the third stage in an impressive 12th position. He also moved up the leaderboard in the overall standings and currently is in 19th spot.

Sherco TVS rider Aravind KP maintained a consistent pace in the third stage and posted 29th fastest time. The Indian rider making his second appearance in Dakar, has moved up to 29th position in the overall standings. Aravind's teammate, Juan Pedrero Garcia is in 20th position in the general classification.

In the bikes category, Stage 3 was won by KTM rider Sam Sunderland, and he also takes the rally lead with Honda's Joan Barreda Bort slipping down the order due to a navigational error. Honda rider Kevin Benavides and Pablo Quintanilla rounded off the top three riders in the overall standings after Stage 3.

In the quad category, the stage three victory went to Chilean Ignacio Casale, who recorded his third straight stage win. He also leads the rally with a healthy margin. Sergey Karyakin is the closest rival for Casale as he maintained his second position in the overall standings.

In the cars category, Toyota driver Nasser Al-Attiyah crossed the finish line with the quickest time in stage three. Stephane Peterhansel leads the rally with a narrow margin ahead of his teammate Cyril Despres. Al-Attiyah has moved up to the third spot in the general rankings. Nine-time WRC champion Sebastien Loeb is in the fourth position in the overall standings.

In the trucks category, Argentina driver Federico Villagra registered his first stage victory in 2018 Dakar Rally. Eduard Nikolaev was second fastest and retains his rally lead ahead of Villagra. Aliaksei Vishneuski rounded off the top three truck drivers after the completion of third stage.

2018 Dakar Stage 3 Results

Motorcycles

1. Sam Sunderland (GBR) KTM
2. Kevin Benavides (ARG) Honda
3. Toby Price (AUS) KTM

Quads

1. Ignacio Casale (CHL) Yamaha
2. Alexis Hernandez (PER) Yamaha
3. Pablo Copetti (ARG) Yamaha

Cars

1. Nasser Al-attiyah (QAT) Toyota
2. Stephane Peterhansel (FRA) Peugeot
3. Carlos Sainz (ESP) Peugeot

Trucks

1. Federico Villagra (ARG) Iveco
2. Eduard Nikolaev (RUS) Kamaz
3. Airat Mardeev (RUS) Kamaz

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The Stage 3 turned out to be very challenging with several competitors retiring from the rally. CS Santosh also suffered problems and lost a lot of time. The Stage 4 will be more challenging with the change in the landscape before hitting the dunes.