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Tag: Sanjay Takale

  • Sanjay Takale dishes out another stellar show with three days remaining: Dakar Classic

    Sanjay Takale dishes out another stellar show with three days remaining: Dakar Classic

    From Rajan Syal at Dakar

    Riyadh (Saudi Arabia), 14 January 2025: Indian rally driver Sanjay Takale, alongside his French co-driver Maxime Raud from the Compagnie Saharienne team, celebrated the festival of Sankranti with a stellar performance at the Dakar 2025. Competing in the Classic Cars section—a regularity event held alongside the main Dakar races—Takale delivered consistent results with a strong display of his skill and commitment.

    On Monday, the seasoned rally driver secured 11th place in the stage rankings. Earlier, in Stage 3’s after the gruelling 48-hour Chrono segment, Takale impressed with a remarkable 7th-place finish. On Tuesday, he finished 12th but was later ranked 17th following a penalty of 40 points, in the stage and currently sits 21st overall in the general classification.

    Haradh is located in the middle of the eastern province, the largest in Saudi Arabia, through which the vehicles of the Dakar caravan sped today, their riders and drivers intently focused to avoid being caught out by the tangle of tracks. Over a distance against the clock of 357 kilometres and at a high pace requiring speedy roadbook reading, the main pitfalls to be avoided for the pretenders to the rally’s various crowns concerned navigation. However, with the need to maintain a steady speed unlike in the other categories, Sanjay Takale, completed one more day successfully.

    A Trailblazer for India in Motorsports

    Takale, a 56-year-old veteran from Manguri near Pune, Maharashtra, is a pioneer in Indian motorsports. Starting his career in motocross during the 1980s, he transitioned to rallying in cars and became an Asia-Pacific Production Cup champion. Takale has also represented India in World Rally Championship (WRC) events.

    His participation in Dakar marks a significant milestone as he becomes the first Indian to compete in the event’s car category. Paired with navigator and coach Maxime Raud, Takale entered the Dakar Classic with the primary goal of gaining valuable experience in the world’s most challenging rally.

    Tuesday’s Challenges and Highlights

    Tuesday’s stage featured four Regularity Tests (RT) and a concluding Dune Test. Takale initially finished 12th in class and was running 15th overall in the Classic Cars category. However, a late penalty of 40 points pushed him to 21st in the overall rankings and 17th in the stage standings.

    Despite the setback, Takale’s experience and precise driving have kept his car unscathed. His ability to navigate sandy terrain, rocky paths, and dunes with consistent speed and regularity helped him handle Dakar’s demanding conditions with focus and dedication.

    The Road Ahead

    This is Takale’s 75th international rally, and he chose to do the ‘Mother of all rallies’ to celebrate the milestone. The next stages will test his mettle further. The remaining three specials—spanning 123 km, 284 km, and 63 km—include the formidable dunes of the Empty Quarter, a highlight of the rally. With reduced distances on the final day, January 17, Takale is poised to tackle the challenges ahead and look confident and his main target is to finish the daunting Dakar.

    The “Mother of All Rallies” has witnessed a historic debut, and with three days remaining, all eyes are on Takale as he continues his journey through the world’s toughest motorsport event even as the three Bikers from India made their exit by now.

    Harith Noah, last year’s Rally2 winner suffered a wrist fracture in the prologue and had to unfortunately withdraw early on medical advice. The other two bikers, privateers, Ashish Raorane, in his third Dakar, suffered a setback once again and was forced to withdraw after Stage 6 while debutant Jatin Jain from Nagpur too withdraw after Stage 5 on January 9.

  • The Good Samaritan in Sanjay Takale pops out; the Pune stalwart dishes out another top-10 show

    The Good Samaritan in Sanjay Takale pops out; the Pune stalwart dishes out another top-10 show

    By Rajan Syal

    Al Duwadimi (Saudi Arabia), 12 January 2025: The legendary Dakar Spirit, celebrated since the rally’s inception in 1979, continues to define the essence of endurance racing. This spirit of camaraderie was on full display during Stage 7 at Dakar 2025, when Pune’s Sanjay Takale, the first Indian in cars at the iconic Dakar, exemplified true sportsmanship, spending over 10 minutes helping his teammate’s car #768, out of a tricky situation, in the dunes. Dakar’s Race Control acknowledged his selfless act by waiving any penalties for the delayed arrival at the Dune Test finish time control (TC), to the tune of time he lost helping the other driver.

    The challenging 14-km Dune Test saw many competitors struggle, with several missing key waypoints and incurring penalties. Remarkably, Sanjay and his co-driver Maxime navigated flawlessly, hitting every waypoint while demonstrating exceptional consistency. Their results in the Regularity Tests were impressive, securing 5th, 13th, and 15th positions in the respective sections.

    The final Regularity Test of the stage was a grueling 146km stretch, featuring over 175 speed changes and 36 secret time controls. Despite the mammoth task, the duo managed to finish with only 48 penalties, a feat that underscores their precision and endurance.

    As the day’s results and overall standings are awaited, hopes are high for another top-10 overall finish in Stage 07. Fingers crossed as Sanjay and Maxime continue to prove that perseverance, teamwork, and the true Dakar Spirit are the keys to success.

    Editor’s note: Sanjay did get a top-10 finish, with a 10th in his class. This copy is written, before the final results of the day arrived.

    About author: Rajan Syal is a motorsports fanatic, who saw the game from all sides being a competitor, rallyist and finally, directing the Indian motorsports as the CEO of fmsci, now he is a freelancer enjoying the dunes of Dakar 2025 and entertaining with his timely Dakar updates.

  • Sanjay Takale impressive on Stage 1; Ashish Raorane, Jatin Jain complete Day 2 on bikes

    Sanjay Takale impressive on Stage 1; Ashish Raorane, Jatin Jain complete Day 2 on bikes

    Bisha (Saudi Arabia), 4 January 2025: All the three Indians at the iconic Dakar Rally completed the first stage successfully on Saturday. Travelling south from Bisha, the air gets thinner and thinner as the road approaches 1,300 metres. The drop in oxygen levels is barely noticeable, but the landscape is no longer the same. Near the middle of the special, the entrants had their work cut out for them exploring the canyons and powering their way up rock-strewn sandy plateaus! The 412 km stage was a test of concentration and sand-surfing skills and the three INdians, Sanjay Takale in Classic Cars sections and, Ashish Raorane and Jatin Jain in the Rally2 class of bikes section managed to finish the day without any hiccups.

    Earlier on Day 1, top Indian rider and last year’s Rally 2 Champion, Harith Noah had a bad crash, fractured his wrist and withdrew from the Dakar 2025. The Sherco TVS Factory rider suffered a premature end to his campaign.

    Sanjay Takale – Classic Cars

    As expected it was a tough long day for all the categories and even the Classics had a long day of 374km Stage 1. The Pune driver, Takale had a good run as both driver and navigator worked well in tandem to finish the day in 37th overall out of 96 cars. In his class H1B class, Sanjay moved up to 5th place out of 11 cars. Tomorrow Stage 02 is the first part of the Chrono stage. Classic cars, come back to Bisha but only 90 minutes of service is allowed.

    Earlier on the first day, as Dakar kicked off with a short prologue, aerpace Racer Sanjay Takale settled into the race and secured an impressive 13th place overall.

    Ashish Raorane – Bikes Rally 2

    Raorane started second today as the start order was based on the reverse order of the prologue results. The 499-km stage with 412-km competitive stage with canyons and rock-strewn sandy plateaus was just the beginning.
    Ashish finished a creditable 77th in the stage and also in General Classification of Rally2 bikes. The Xraids Experience rider clocked 7 hours, 50 minutes and 08 seconds. The indian is supported by Rynox Gear, Reise tyres and DosMoto design. The technical and maintenance support comes from SlipStream Performance, while spares and accessories partners are Motousher, BigBad Bikes, Lazyass Bikers and MX store.

    Jatin Jain – Bikes Rally2 class

    Indore’s Jatin Jain is on his maiden Dakar and he did well to complete the first full section. He finished 111th in the classification and was bogged down by a penalty. He is riding with team Desert Storm Racing. He is riding a Kove 450 Rally bike and service is provided by XRaids Experience team. He is supported by Vamsi Merla in his quest for Dakar through VM Sports Foundation, and also has Rynox as one of his supporters.

    RIDER FACTS… (Jatin Jain)

    • Jatin Jain’s passion for motorbikes and rallying has taken over his everyday life. After working and founding several businesses, Jatin Jain has fully focused on his passion with the firm intention of competing in off-road rallies for the next 15 years.
    • The Indian from Indore started racing on home soil some 20 years ago and started with motocross and supercross. To date he has over 200 podium finishes.
    • Cross-country rallying wasn’t really an addiction, but he was pushed by CS Santosh, the first Indian to finish the Dakar in 2015 to give it a go despite not really liking the navigation side. Bit he eventually decided to switch to the discipline.
    • After competing and gaining experience on rallies like the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, the Sonora Rally or the Desfaio Ruta 40 in Argentina, it’s now time for the big one for the 46-year-old rider who will be starting the Dakar on a Kove.
    • Not too worried about the difficulty of such a demanding rally, the main concern for this father of two based in Nagpur is food. Jain is indeed a pure vegetarian and might come with his own food from India just to make sure that he has everything he needs to be as efficient as possible on the bike.
  • Sanjay Takale finishes gruelling Rally Finland: WRC3

    Sanjay Takale finishes gruelling Rally Finland: WRC3

    India’s Sanjay Takale (right) and co-driver Darren Garrod on the finish ramp of WRC Neste Rally Finland on Sunday. Photos: Team Takale

    Bengaluru, 30 July 2018: Seasoned rally driver Sanjay Takale on Sunday achieved another milestone as he became the first registered driver from India to finish a round of the FIA World Rally Championship at the iconic Neste Rally Finland, according to the information received here on Monday.

    Takale was classified 14th in the WRC 3 category and 47thoverall in the gruelling Rally Finland after the final of action that saw two Special Stages—Laukaa and Ruuhimaki run twice over before the final flourish.

    The Pune-based Takale and his British co-driver Darren Garrod survived the 23 Special Stages over a total of 317.26-km, rated among the fastest in the WRC calendar, to bring home their Baltic Motorsports Promotion-prepared 2-Wheel drive Ford Fiesta R2 in 14th position.

    Sanjay Takale in action on Sunday.

    “Like any rally driver, I also dreamt of participating in and finishing a FIA World Rally Championship event. So, it was a dream come true for me to compete in and finish the fastest WRC event on our planet!,” is how Takale reflected on his debut WRC Rally Finland.

    On Sunday as Takale started 13th, he went through the first Stage in Laukaa over 11.74-km in 8 minutes 2.4 seconds, while in the second loop he timed it in 7:59.2. The Ruuhimaki Stage measuring 11.12-km was power stage in the second loop and in both he improved his timing, but the competition was nevertheless tough. Takale clocked 8:02.6 in the first loop and 7:55.9 in the final power stage to finish the rally in one piece.

    “It was an amazing experience overall and a steep learning curve for me overall. Probably, I could have fared better had I not lost time due to a puncture and twice having to repair the damaged lower arms of my car. However, that is part and parcel of rallying and I am not complaining,” said Takale.

    “Going forward, I might do more WRC events. At the same time, I have to work on my fitness to do better in WRC rallies which are long and punishing. In the Neste Finland Rally, for instance, we covered a total distance of 1,400 Kms over four days, not counting the two days of reconnaissance runs. Right now, I want to savour these moments after completing a WRC event, though I have plenty to think about!”

    Takale, who started Sunday’s Leg-3 in 13th position, dropped one spot after the day’s four Special Stages of 45.72 Kms.

    Results:

    Overall: 1. Ott Tanak (Est) 2 hrs 35 mins 18.1 secs; 2. Mads Ostberg (Nor) 2::35:50.8; 3. Jari-Matti Latvala (Fin) 2::35:53.6; 4. HaydenPaddon (Nzl) 2::36:53.7; 5. Sebastien Ogier (Fra) 2::37:33.1….30. Gaurav Gill (Ind) 3::18:17.7…47. Sanjay Takale (Ind) 3::54:40.3.

    WRC 3: 1. Ken Torn (Est) 3::03:07.2; 2. Emil Bergkvist (Swe) 3::03:17.1; 3. Jean-Baptiste Franceschi (Fra) 3::04:53.4; 4. Julius Tannert (Ger) 3::07:15.3; 5. Callum Devine (Irl) 3::09:14.1…14. Sanjay Takale (Ind) 3::54:40.3.

    ends/db

  • Sanjay Takale moves to 13th in WRC 3 after Leg-2

    Sanjay Takale moves to 13th in WRC 3 after Leg-2

    Sanjay Takale action in WRC Neste Rally Finland. Photo: Honza Fronek

    Jyväskylä (Finland), 29 July 2018: A determined Sanjay Takale, making his debut in the FIA World Rally Championship, battled his way to 13th position in the WRC 3 category at the end of Leg-2 in the Neste Rally Finland on Saturday.

    Pune-based Takale, along with British co-driver Darren Garrod, maintained a steady pace in the 2-Wheel Drive Ford Fiesta, prepared by Baltic Motorsports Promotion, through the day that was punctuated by eight Special Stages over 142.86 Kms to gain one spot from overnight 14th to 13th despite being docked time penalty.

    Reflecting on the longest day of the Rally, Takale said: “We started the day well, but I received heavy time penalty in one of the Stages following a major crash. I was about to start the Stage when I was stopped by the Marshall even as ambulances were rushing in. I and a few other cars behind me had to wait for nearly an hour and we then proceeded to the next Stage. I was handed a time penalty for late reporting, though it was no fault of mine!”

    Shrugging off the incident, Takale maintained his pace on the second loop of the Stages highlighted by high speed, blind crests followed immediately by corners. “No wonder that Rally Finland is known to be the fastest Rally in the World! It is very technical and the pace notes have to be spot-on because the terrain is very unforgiving as even the smallest mistake can prove costly,” explained Takale.

    Sunday will see the competitors covering just 45.72 Kms over two Special Stages – Laukaa (11.74 Kms) and Ruuhimaki (11.12 Kms) – that will be run twice before the finish of the Rally.

    ends/db

  • Sanjay Takale set for WRC debut in Finland

    Jyväskylä (Finland), 25 July 2018: India’s Sanjay Takale is all set for the drive of his life as he makes debut in the FIA World Rally Championship this weekend in the Neste Rally Finland. The Pune-based Takale along with co-driver Darren Garrod from Britain will be piloting a WRC 3-spec Ford Fiesta R2 (two-wheel drive) prepared by Baltic Motorsports Promotion team.

    “After many years of participating in and winning international rallies, notably the FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship, I am now pursing my long-cherished dream of competing in the World Rally Championship as a registered driver in the WRC 3 category,” said Pune-based Takale.

    Takale’s immediate target in Rally Finland is to complete the course that comprises of 23 Special Stages spread over 317.26 Kms. Over the four days of action, the competitors will cover a total distance of 1,427.49 Kms.

    The Neste Rally Finland, which commences on Thursday night is considered the fastest event in the WRC calendar with average speeds upwards of 126Kmph, besides iconic jumps of Ruuhimäki Special Stage on Sunday.

    “The weather forecast for the weekend is dry as it is summer here in Finland. So, I expect a fast and dry rally,” said Takale soon after finishing a test run in the Fiesta.

    Takale’s quest for fresh challenges and ultimately realising his WRC dreams saw him shift focus on Europe. He participated in rallies in Iceland and Sweden before tying up with Latvia-based Baltic Motorsports Promotion on whose suggestion he took part in rallies in Latvia and Estonia to prepare for the WRC Finland round.

    With BMP offering him a WRC registered car, Takale decided to participate in the Rally Finland to become first Indian registered driver in the WRC 3 category.