Sanjay Takale dishes out another stellar show with three days remaining: Dakar Classic
Bikers pull out leaving Takale as sole Indian at Dakar 2025
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.
