Merzouga Rally: Sherco TVS finishes inside top 10, Santosh 19th

Stage 5 comprised of a short 48 km run in Erg Chebbi, one of Morocco’s two Saharan dune regions.

Riding Sherco TVS’ RTR 450, Pedrero could only manage the 15th fastest time of the day, 3m01s down on stage topper Pablo Quintanilla. However, his previous results were enough to secure 7th spot in the overall rankings.

Diego Martin Duplessis ended four positions behind his teammate in 11th, while fellow rookie Vanni Cominotto was ranked 21st.

Lorenzo Santolino was Sherco TVS’ star rider of the day, setting the fourth quickest time to move up to 31th in the classified order.

The Spaniard, who competed on Indian soil for the first time last month, had lost a heap of time in stage 4 after running inside top 10 for much of the rally.

Over at Hero, Santosh ended the day in 30th position, but was able to retain 19th spot in the overall standings.

"I am really glad to have finished the Merzouga, as I was a little worried after the crash I had at the Desert Storm," he said.

"Overall I think I made fewer mistakes this year and improved a lot in my speed and navigation, so it’s been a good learning experience for me.

"The bike and the team have been fantastic and helped me get the bike home every day. Now I will look to build upon this experience for the next races to come.”

Dakar 2018 star and Santosh’s teammate Oriol Mena completed today’s stage in 13th position to secure 15th spot in the combined rankings.

Meanwhile, the overall win went to  Honda's Joan Barreda, who took top honours by 6m10s from teammate Kevin Benavides.