For Hero MotoSports Team Rally, it was an emotional day as the news of crashes kept coming out from the stage. The first casualty for the team came in the form of rider C S Santosh, who suffered a nasty crash between the waypoint 4 and 5, rendering him incapable of pursuing the stage further. This unfortunate crash brought a premature end to his attempt to conquer a record 5th Dakar by an Indian. His condition is stable and he is currently being attended to by the medical team at a hospital in Tacna.

Today’s stage was quite fast with all the riders going flat out in waves of 10 in a motocross style start. The presence of fesh-fesh severely impaired the visibility for the riders coming at the back, and stones hidden away in the course of the route made it even more dangerous.