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C.S. Santosh: Dreaming of Dakar MotoGP 2017: Without argument, one of the best years of Grand Prix Motorcycle racing ever! Almost four decades later on another continent, C.S. Santosh experienced a similar reality check. A near-fatal fire accident at the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge kept him out of racing for a good part of 2013. “I was the first Indian to debut at the World Cross-Country Rally Championship and was racing well. But that accident made me feel like it was all over,” says Santosh. He didn’t quit, however, returning in 2014 with a new-found determination to conquer, one track at a time. In 2015, C.S. Santosh, then 32, became the first Indian to participate in the Dakar Rally, arguably the most dangerous in the world, and even managed to complete it in his first attempt. Photo: Hero MotoSports He won the Maruti Suzuki Desert Storm that year and finished in the top 10 at the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge. 14 JANUARY 2018