CS Santosh

Chunchunguppe Shivashankar Santosh (born 1 December 1983), known as CS Santosh (siːɛs sʌnðəʊsh), is an Indian off-road and enduro motorcycle racer. He is a multiple National Supercross and Motocross champion. He operates under the banner of Hero MotoSports.

Early life At the age of 17, Santosh watched his first Supercross race in Bangalore and read about the champion, Vijay Kumar, in newspapers the next day.

Career 2005 CS Santosh won the MRF National Supercross champion and the Gulf National Dirt Track championship in 2005 at the age of 22.

2006 In 2006, he won the Al-Ain Motocross in Dubai & finished 5th overall in Dubai National MX championship.

2016 Santosh returned to the Dakar in 2016 with Team Suzuki Rally, Spain. He had to retire from the race due to mechanical difficulties. He won the 2016 India Baja later that year and headed for the Desert Storm which he won for the third time in a row.

2017 Santosh started off the year as the only Indian rider to finish the 2017 Dakar, while racing for Hero Speedbrain. He completed the race clocking a time of 41:20:37 at 47th position.

Santosh raced at the inaugural Nexa P1 Powerboat Indian Grand Prix of the Seas and took his maiden powerboat win. He was the first Indian P1 pilot to win the Nexa P1 Powerboat Indian Gran Prix of the Seas.

2018 Santosh finished the 2018 Dakar Rally to become the first Indian to complete the rally raid thrice. His 34th position in the bike category was his best-ever finish at the Dakar.

2021 Riding for the Hero Motocorp team in the Dakar 2021 rally, CS Santosh crashed out 135 km into the Stage 4 on a gravel track, forcing his retirement. Suffering a suspected head injury, he was flown out to a hospital in Riyadh. On what was his seventh attempt at the Dakar Rally, Santosh suffered a heavy crash on a gravel track in Stage 4. Husqvarna’s Paul Spierings was the first to arrive at the scene and revealed that he found Santosh unconscious and had to resuscitate him. After being attended to by the on-ground medical team, he was flown down to the German Hospital in Riyadh.

Awards and recognition Motorsport Man of the Year - 2015 FMSCI's Motorsport Man of the Year award - 2016