Aerpace racer Sanjay Takale suits up for his Dakar 2.0 mission
Pune: If at all there was a prize for exuberance and simplicity put together, Aerpace racer Sanjay Takale will win hands down. Put him in rugged and punishing terrain, Takale, who also wears the hat of the director of Aerpace, is ever ready to leave the cozy confines of his tastefully built home in Manjri and hit the off-road track, wherever it may be. He has done everything in the world of car rallying: from Asia Pacific rally championship, Asia cross-country rally to the World rally championship on the super-fast gravel terrain of Jyväskylä in Finland. Only goal remaining in his bucket list was the most challenging—Dakar Rally. And, he realized it in January 2025, but come 2026, Takale has packed everything that he would require in the land of Mecca over 14 days from January 3.Speaking to the reporter, Mr. Sanjay Takale said that, The Aerpace racer is ready for what he prefers to call Dakar 2.0, a 7,999-kilometre rally through the challenging Saudi Arabian desert, which is unlike any other past settings. Despites being desert, the day in Saudi Arabia is as hot as an oven, but at night weather chills down like any winter day in Europe. Mr. Prakash Gaur, Director of Aerpace Industries Ltd, Mr. Aniruddha Deshpande, Mr. Shrikant Apte were present during the press conference.Aerpace racer Takale will make sure India is represented in Dakar rally this year too in the four-wheeler category in the World’s Toughest Rally Raid. In 2026, Sanjay Takale will be lining up at the Dakar Rally once again, with thecountry’s return to one of the most challenging motorsports rally.Enriched with the experience of completing 2025 Dakar in the Classic car category Takale is practical to the core.“My first Dakar was an extraordinary experience. Dakar changes you once you race it; you are never the same. It challenges you mentally, breaks you down, and teaches you resilience, discipline, and the true meaning of fighting back. I emerged not just as a stronger driver but as a different person altogether. This year, my focus is clear to return, finish the rally again, and significantly improve my position. I will once again be competing for my team, Aerpace Racers, with technical support from the French historic rally team Compagne Saharienne, I am proud to represent India as the only four-wheeler entry for the second consecutive year. My goal is simple: to see the finish line and to finish stronger,” said Takale, who aims to keep his approach calmer, sharper and much more focused.In his debut Dakar appearance, Sanjay Takale had finished 18th overall in a field of 94 cars, in a rally where it is enough just to reach the finish line, which is considered equivalent as winning, in the rally raid parlance. That result had placed him in an elite group of Indian drivers who genuinely competed at the highest level of global rally raid racing.“My goal is to simply experience the might of Dakar and have fun driving in the dunes. It is a long journey and will be a good learning experience. I am also very proud to be the first Indian to get this opportunity to drive on a four-wheeler at Dakar,” said Aerpace racer Takale.Pune-based Takale, who became the first Indian to win an Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC) title in the production class, in 2013, will have French car driver Maxime Raud, as his navigator, for the second consecutive year.The 2026 Dakar Rally runs from January 3 to 17 in its 48th edition, seventh time in Saudi Arabia. The route starts at Yanbu Al-Ula, and will finish on January 17 at the starting point. Yanbu is a coastal town on red sea.The motorsport addict began his career with motocross races in June 1987 and won over 100 trophies till 2001 and bid good bye with a big win at the bike National round at Nashik as a TVS factory rider before he drifted into endurance rallies in 2009. A veteran in the Indian National Rally Championship and the Malaysian Rally Championship, he has been a regular in the Asia-Pacific Rally Championship. After many more laurels in the four-wheel section, he became the first Indian to get glory for India at the APRC, winning the Production class title in 2013. In 2018, he switched up gears and made his Rally 3 debut at the World Rally Championship 3 at Rally Finland. He bagged a creditable 14th in his class behind the wheel of a Ford Fiesta R2, despite virtually no seat time, along with co-driver Darren Garrod, and repeated it at the 2019 edition. In 2022, he represented Team India at the FIA Motorsport Games and finished eighth, along with co-driver Mike Young, in his first tarmac rally in a Peugeot 208 Rally4.Takale is also a regular at the Asia Cross-Country Rally, winning the T2 category in an Isuzu D-Max in 2011. In August 2024, he drove his Toyota Hilux Revo to a 13th place in the T1D class, for an overall 23rd.Rally Dates: January 3 to 17
Total Days: 14
Total Stages: 13
Total Distance: 7999-kms
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