11/09/2020
Chunchunguppe Shivashankar Santosh has spent more than a decade racing motorbikes across challenging terrains and multiple nations. He is a rider who is under the banner of Hero MotoSports, and has spearheaded a rally of revolution of motorsports in India and has given fresh hope to fellow talented riders that they too can make the step up to the global rally level.
At the age of 17, he watched his first Supercross race in Bangalore and read about the champion, Vijay Kumar, in the next day's newspapers. Since then, he was motivated to become the best off-road racer that the country has ever had.
In a country where aspiring for a full-time career in motorsports is still in a very nascent stage, Santosh has shown the way, becoming the first Indian to participate and complete the Dakar rally. Few men dream of the enigma that is the Dakar, few find the gall to take it up, and fewer still manage to complete it. CS has taken part in the Dakar Rally for 6 straight years and completed it thrice.
His humble demeanour might not state it, but the trophy cabinet at this home speaks volumes about his accomplishments. There is barely a title or an accolade in the Indian motorsport scene that he hasn't won.
CS Santosh with his persistence, courage and determination has moulded himself perfectly in the sport of motocross.