Rallying against odds

At 50 years of age, Pune rally driver Sanjay Takale will make a debut at the World Rally Championships (WRC) -3  next week at Nestle Rally, Finland. The WRC is already mid-way through the season and Takale will not compete for the championship.

“It is a big break for me. I will experience it this season and fight for the championship next season,” Takale said.

He will be driving for Baltic Motorsport for the Finland leg of the WRC 3 category along with co-driver Darren Gerrard of Great Britain. Though Takale will have to drive from the left in Europe, as against the conventional right side drives in India, he doesn’t see much problem in adjusting to it. “Yes there would be problems at photo finishes, but otherwise, I don’t see much of a problem. I have driven before from the left side in Europe and my co driver will be handy,” he said.

Takale is used to adjustments from a young age. He started with cycling from Manjri Village near Hadapsar in Pune, and then got on the bike.  In June 1987, he participated in his first bike race and it was just the start of big things. After 14 years, and many podiums in rallying, dirt racing and motocross, he got married and started focusing on his construction company, but  he still missed Motorsport.

He returned to the circuit after six years, but this time, it was in a car in his first ever four-wheel rally, the Desert Storm, in 2007.

“After marriage I think, I’m better with cars than on bikes,” said Takale who has an 18-year-old daughter who like her mother isn’t much into Motorsport. But despite facing regular questions at home, Takale continues to travel for rallies to drive his passion.

“I face questions at home but that is normal. I can’t think anything other than Motorsport,” he said.

He has made a few more comebacks in his career and the biggest of them was in 2015 when he suffered from Malaria and was confined to bed for six months.

“I have suffered many accidents and made a few comebacks but that was biggest of all. I had Malaria and was on bed for six months. I was too weak and lost at least 25 kilograms. There were doubts about whether I would survive, but I fought that phase and made another comeback to the circuit against all the odds," he said.

He has been a regular in the Asia Pacific Rally Championship and now has gone a step further. In the lead up to the Finland Rally, Takale competed in Rally Tallinn in Estonia, which is a candidate venue for the next year, and Rally Latvia with decent finishes.

Takale will be joined in Rally Finland by Country man and MRF driver, Gaurav Gill, who will be competing in the WRC2 class in a R5-spec Ford Fiesta.