Mena breaks into top 10, Rodrigues in top 20 after stage 8 of Dakar

Spaniard Oriol Mena rode flawlessly to break into top 10 in the overall rankings with a 12th place finish in stage 8 as Hero MotorSports continued to make gains in the 41st Dakar Rally here.

Mena's teammate Joaquim Rodrigues of Portugal too had a good outing on Tuesday as he finished the stage in the 13 spot to be placed 18th in the overall rankings.

Mena finished 24 minutes and 13 seconds behind stage 8 winner Matthias Walkner of KTM (3 hours 55 minutes and 25 seconds).

Pablo Quintanilla of Husqvarna Factory Racing finished the stage in the second spot ahead of KTM Factory Racing's Toby Price.

Price is leading the overall rankings with a total timing of 28 hours 53 minutes and eight seconds ahead of Quintanilla and another KTM rider Matthias Walkner.

The riders encounter yet another day of fog, dust and fast riding as the stage 8 went underway from San Juan De Marcona to Pisco.

Unlike the first half of the rally where Hero riders were marred by crashes, Mena and Rodrigues have ...