Chilecito (Argentina), January 18: Hero MotoSports Team Rally's rookie rider Oriol Mena continued his great form to finish the first leg of the marathon and the 11th stage of Dakar Rally at ninth position. The result placed him at 10th position in the overall rankings.

Stage 11 of @dakar: A solid day at work for our Heroes! @OriolMena breaks into Top 10 while @cs_santosh22 gains a lot of ground. The Man and the Machine are still going strong! 👊🏻 #Dakar2018 #RaceTheLimits #HeroatDakar

Full rankings and report: https://t.co/WmmGJFHrJw pic.twitter.com/SnfnpSsUtF

— Hero MotoSports (@hero_motosports) January 17, 2018

Following a forgetful previous day, C S Santosh rode steadily to gain lost ground. He did well to reach the Fiambala bivouac and finish the stage at 33rd place, which takes him to the overall ranking of 34th at the end of stage 11. He will be aiming to improve his rankings further in the last few remaining stages.

#DakarUpdate: @cs_santosh22 played it safe and steady for stage 11 of the @dakar, finishing 33rd at the Fiambala mountains, moving 7 places up. To know more about his #Dakar2018 journey, follow https://t.co/rYHbQUeTeT. pic.twitter.com/SHXhsgZYCK

— Red Bull India (@inRedBull) January 18, 2018

For the bikes, Stage 11 was the first leg of the Marathon stage as they covered a liaison of 205 kms and a special stage of 280 km to camp overnight in the Fiambala Mountains. The stage left the riders without the assistance crew for the second time in the rally.

If not for the fuel tank snafus that saw him lose 2 hours & the hard knock he had in the second half of the first marathon stage it’s great to see Indian ace @cs_santosh22 still plugging on n 35th in the overall rankings on his @hero_motosports machine! @FastBikesIndia pic.twitter.com/8sLmYb4SgJ

— ADIL DARUKHANAWALA (@adiljal) January 18, 2018

Now, they will be left to their own devices to tend to themselves as well as their bikes. The stage challenged the riders with lots of loose sand and bit of soil. Stage 12 will take the competitors to San Juan and one more day closer to the finish line at Cordoba but not before their physical strength and endurance is put to test with many twists and turns and stony sections.

You are looking at a beast 🐯 of a rider! 🏍@OriolMena is now in the Top 10 rankings of @dakar. #HeroatDakar #Dakar2018 #RaceTheLimits pic.twitter.com/98fCG42HKc

— Hero MotoSports (@hero_motosports) January 18, 2018

With only 3 stages remaining now, the rally will look to get into the top gear with all competitors pushing hard to improve their positions. Mena said: "Today was an important first leg of the Super Fiambala Marathon stage. The starting order for today was mixed with trucks and cars so it was really confusing in the beginning.

"The navigation as well was quite tough and the soft sand made it physically exhausting, making the stage feel longer than it was. But everything went very well, and the bike was working great."

“I am happy to be here as I got another tough day in the bag today. Now I just need to get some rest and renew my energy and focus on the second leg of the marathon stage of @dakar tomorrow.” — @cs_santosh22. #DakarDiary #HeroatDakar #RaceTheLimits #Dakar2018 pic.twitter.com/GBYZ7d3Ama

— Hero MotoSports (@hero_motosports) January 18, 2018