Rally Raid
#TrySomethingNew: CS Santosh
A rally-raid bike racer discovers his sea legs? CS Santosh tries out powerboat racing and it sure went well for him!
CS Santosh is an athlete you would correctly associate with an off-road motorbike waiting to take on a grueling rally-raid stage. It is clear from his various interviews that he lives for racing but it isn't strictly limited to motorbikes. Earlier this year, CS Santosh entered a totally different race on the seas, where he raced a P1 Panther powerboat. Santosh and rally champion Gaurav Gill raced at the inaugural P1 Powerboat Indian Grand Prix of the Seas.
Santosh is more than happy to recount his experience on the water. He has been toying with the idea for quite some time now. "I know Anil Singh (Managing Director of Procam International, the organisers of the event) personally and in 2015, he told me he had a powerboat in Mumbai. He asked if I wanted to just drive it around for a bit and see how I felt," explains Santosh. By his own admission, Santosh didn't really push the boat too much because he was just getting a feel for it. He was sure that he wanted to race this boat though and he told Anil Singh about it.
In 2016, Singh told Santosh that they were going to organise a powerboat race soon but in order to race in it, Santosh had to get his powerboat license. Along with Gaurav Gill, Santosh was put under the tutelage of seven-time powerboat champion Neil Holmes, who taught them everything they needed to know about powerboat racing at his school in Southampton, England. "I had to learn a lot to get the powerboat license. We were taught a lot of concepts for seven days after which I had to take a written exam. I learned how to park the boat, read the waves and learn all the race signs. It was only after we passed the test that I got three days of race training," says Santosh.
The training was quite different for both Indian riders because the sea itself presented such a new challenge. The P1 Panther boat can race at depths as shallow as 6 feet deep and at 250 horsepower, the Panther can get up to what amounts to 240kmh on land. The difference was stark for Santosh. "I've been racing bikes for a long time and a bike fits you like a glove. A bike moves dynamically with you and it is easy to manipulate it. These boats are 33 feet long but what's worse is I have to just sit there! I can't move while racing, which was weird for me," he explains.
Race day itself was a totally new thing for this solo motorbike racer. The powerboat race took place over a weekend. A team, which consists of two boats, participates in three races over the weekend and their combined finishes dictate the overall standings. Each raceboat has a driver and a navigator. Santosh was the driver and he just dealt with the swells and sea out in front of him while the navigator told him which way to go. "Working with a navigator was a new experience for me. While the racing aspect was similar, we lined up for the first race and I got off to a good start, just focusing on the waves and listening to somebody else tell me where to go was different."
At the end of it all, Santosh's team, The Booster Jets won all three races and Santosh walked away from his powerboat experience as a winner. "I was ecstatic with the victory. I was so happy because I was on my way back from an injury. I had some hardware put into my neck and it was bad. In two weeks time, I went from lying in a hospital bed to standing on that podium. It was a really great feeling!"
CS Santosh enjoys his maiden powerboat win
© Procam International
With powerboat racing champion to add to his list of achievements, Santosh has retrained his sights on his day job, which is racing supercross and rally-raid races. There is also the small matter of preparing for the Dakar Rally this year. One thing is for certain, Santosh is looking to race powerboats again sometime soon and he put one more wish out into the world. "Hopefully, you will see me racing on four wheels sometime soon!"
Over the next few weeks we're celebrating the spirit of trying something new with the release of the new Red Bull Green Edition. Check it out in stores and wherever Red Bull is sold.