Dakar 2018: Hero MotoSports riders make it to Dakar Rally halfway point in La Paz

The Dakar Rally has made it to its halfway point as the field of competitors crossed into La Paz, Bolivia, from Arequipa in Peru. Among them are the 100 competitors in the bikes category, which includes Hero MotoSports Team Rally’s Oriol Mena and CS Santosh.

Mena, the former junior world enduro champion is currently 21^st overall after finishing the 758km sixth leg (including a 313km timed special stage, but shortened due to fears over visibility) in 23^rd place.

Santosh, whose primary objective was to make it to the rest day after losing a lot of ground in stage 4 and also suffering a crash in stage 5, made it past the post in 37^th place to be classified 52^nd overall.

The entry into La Paz marks the heading of the rally into the Andes mountain range, due to which competitors had to deal with a sudden dip in temperature and also adjust to the sudden rise in altitude.

It also means leaving behind the very dusty and sandy stages that the competitors encountered in Peru.

But reaching La Paz also gives the competitors a chance to rest their tired bodies and catch up on some sleep, as Friday will be the rally’s official rest day.

Following this there will be eight more stages to go before the Dakar Rally reaches its conclusion in Cordoba, Argentina.