Latest news with #DakarRally
India Gazette
6 days ago
- Automotive
- India Gazette
Sanjay Takale gears up for Thailand Rally Raid Championship after completing Dakar Rally
Chachoengsao [Thailand], May 30 (ANI): After successfully completing the gruelling Dakar Rally, seasoned Indian rally driver Sanjay Takale is now set to take on a new challenge at the Thailand Rally Raid Championship, scheduled to take place from May 31 to June 1, 2025, in Chachoengsao Province. Takale, one of India's most accomplished and internationally recognised rally drivers, will compete in the T1 class--the premier category of cross-country rallying. Notably, he will be the only Indian participant in the T1 class, reaffirming his position as a trailblazer for Indian motorsport on the global stage, as per a press release. Speaking about the transition from Dakar to Thailand, Takale shared, 'The Dakar was a true test of endurance, grit, and mechanical reliability. Thailand Rally Raid presents a unique challenge--tighter stages, unpredictable terrain, and extreme humidity. Yesterday was a good practice session; I had the chance to push the limits of the Toyota Hilux. I am excited to be back behind the wheel so soon after Dakar, and proud to carry the Indian flag into the T1 class.' Known for his resilience and technical skill, Takale has consistently represented India at global rally events such as the Asia-Pacific Rally Championship (APRC), FIA World Rally Championship, and most recently, Dakar 2025, one of the world's toughest motorsport events. The Thailand Rally Raid Championship is a major event in Southeast Asia's off-road calendar, drawing top drivers and teams from across the region. The two-day rally across Chachoengsao's rugged landscapes is expected to push competitors to their physical and mechanical limits. Takale's participation not only marks his debut in the Thai off-road racing scene but also continues his mission to promote Indian talent and visibility in international motorsport. With decades of experience and multiple podiums finishes across continents, Sanjay Takale remains a fierce competitor and an ambassador for Indian motorsport excellence. (ANI)
NDTV
22-05-2025
- Sport
- NDTV
Harith Noah Withdraws From W2RCs South African Safari Rally After Unfortunate Injury
Indian rally-raid rider Harith Noah was forced to withdraw from the South African Safari Rally, Round 3 of the 2025 FIA-FIM World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC), following a crash at the beginning of Stage 1. Harith encountered a jackal that jumped in front of his bike and while attempting to brake and maneuver around the animal, he crashed, resulting in significant swelling in his right hand. He got up and showed resilience, riding 20 kilometres more before withdrawing due to loss of grip strength and pain from the fall. Harith had made a good start to the rally, finishing 5th in the Prologue Stage of Rally 2 with a timing of 7:44.1s, marking his return to rally-raid after he had an injury-led exit at the Dakar Rally, earlier in January which required surgery to his wrist. "Fortunately, it's not the wrist that got injured this time. There was a lot of swelling in my right hand, and I just didn't have the strength to hold the bike and ride, which forced me to stop," said Harith from South Africa. "We don't exactly know what the issue is yet, but nothing appears to be broken, which is a good sign. I'll be getting an MRI today to check for any further damage," he said. Noah, who rides for the Sherco TVS Rally Factory team, is hopeful for a swift recovery and aims to return in time for the Baja Espana Aragon 2025 in Spain, scheduled from 25 to 27 July. "The important thing is that we are safe. Even though it was just two days of riding, I learned a lot and feel like I have gained valuable experience. I definitely know what can be done, and I know I will be back. Hopefully, this is just one step backwards to take a bigger step forward," ended Harith with confidence. The 2025 W2RC season features five rounds across three continents, pushing riders through a wide spectrum of terrains and conditions. The year kicked off with the legendary Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia, followed by the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge. Now, the championship heads into uncharted territory with the debut of the South African Safari Rally. The final two rounds will take riders to Portugal for the BP Ultimate Rally Raid in September, before culminating with the iconic Rallye du Maroc in October. Listen to the latest songs, only on
The Drive
20-05-2025
- Automotive
- The Drive
6 Wienermobiles Will Race for Glory at the Indy Motor Speedway This Friday
The latest car news, reviews, and features. Forget about Formula 1, the Dakar Rally, and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Something a whole lot more exciting is coming to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Friday, May 23. Six examples of the Wienermobile will race against each other in what's being called the Wienie 500. We're not kidding. We can't make this up. Oscar Mayer is sending six Wienermobiles to the track for the first time, and it's not just any old track. It's the same circuit that will host the sold-out Indy 500 on Sunday, May 25. Details about the race haven't been released yet, so we don't know how many laps of the 2.5-mile-long oval the Wienermobile will log. There's no word on who will get to drive the Wienermobiles, either. It doesn't sound like Oscar Mayer will make any mechanical modifications to the six hot dog-shaped trucks before letting them loose on the track. Each one will represent a different regional hot dog. There's the Chi Dog representing the Midwest (#1), the New York Dog for the East Coast (#2), the Slaw Dog for the Southeast (#3), the Sonoran Dog for the Southwest (#4), the Seattle Dog for the Northwest (#5), and, last but sure as hell not least, the Chili Dog racing for the South (#6). Each driver will wear a custom-made Hotdogger suit that we can't wait to see. Which dog will win? Without any lap times from practice or qualifying, it's hard to tell, but either way, the winner will drink the Winner's Ketchup. Just kidding. The race will be streamed live on the FOX Sports app starting on Friday, May 23, at 2:00 p.m. ET, which is 11:00 a.m. in California. If you don't have the app, you can also catch all of the live-streamed action by following INDYCARonFOX on social media. Got tips? Send 'em to tips@
ABC News
19-05-2025
- Automotive
- ABC News
Off-road motorbike champion Daniel Sanders eyes further international wins after Dakar Rally success
The chances of coming across a Dakar Rally winner at work in regional Australia, knee-deep in a farm dam, are always slim — but never zero. Victorian motorbike racer Daniel Sanders is that slim chance. The 30-year-old, a rising star in the high-speed world of rally-raid — and winner of one of the world's toughest races in January — is focused on the third race of the 2025 World Rally-Raid Championship this week. But lately, his mind's been put to much lower-adrenaline pursuits. Sanders had previously said if he wasn't a racer, he'd probably be a farmer. "Apples are in full swing here at the moment," he said of his 12-week break from competition, at the family farm about 65km from Melbourne. "The old man's flat-out picking. I'm just tidying up some machines … It's been a really dry end to the summer, so we're cleaning out dams and making sure they're ready to fill up for next summer." Sanders Apples is a fourth-generation, 100-acre orchard growing on the slopes of a Yarra Valley hillside in Three Bridges — a locale home to about 200 people and innumerable bush tracks. Beneath the canopies of towering native eucalypts, soft-edged roads wind through the valley's hills. It's the Aussie's home away from the overseas desert tracks over which he's lately firmed his reputation as a tactical and uncompromising competitor. Rally-raid is a mixed-class category: high-powered dirt bikes race alongside almost futuristic, purpose-built rally cars, and even quad bikes. It's a tactical race against the clock on epic, constantly-changing courses that take days to complete. The World Championship consists of five races this year, beginning with the famed Dakar Rally — which Sanders won convincingly. After that win — making Sanders the second Australian to win The Dakar after Toby Price — and the celebrations that ensued, Sanders returned to Three Bridges as family duty called. Even the winner of one of the world's toughest races still had to help around the farm — not that he complained. "I've been pretty busy between training and working on those [farm] machines," he said. "Tidying things up and making it a bit easier for my old man and my uncles. "Making sure the irrigation's good and all the water's running as well." Days in the paddock — sunrise to sunset, he said — might seem an unusual distraction for a world-class motorbike racer — especially one who leads a World Championship approaching the season's half-way point. Some competitors might spend their days burning around a test track or poring over data seeking an edge for the next event. To be sure: he'd kept up his training, and wasn't short of social engagements. But work around the farm — training his mind to hone a different kind of focus than the type needed for days spent flat-out on a motorbike — would, he hoped, help sharpen him for the season's remaining week-long races. "When you jump back on a bike it makes you really enjoy it and keeps you motivated." But inevitably, after a nearly three-month break, the championship race has pulled him back to competition. The farming gear has been switched for racing leathers, hat for a helmet, and from work gloves to racing ones — CHUCKY, his nickname, emblazoned on them above a bright cartoon of a honey-dripped apple. Now the focus is on the pursuit of victory over the coming days, this time in southern Africa. The five-day Safari Rally marks the World Rally-Raid Championship's first visit to South Africa, and presents distinctly different challenges to those posed in North Africa and Arabia, where Sanders has lately excelled. Shifting desert dunes, with red-gold sand rising like giant waves, have been the backdrop for each of Sanders' recent wins in Morocco, Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi. In South Africa, competitors expect more solid ground. Organisers say dirt and gravel will make up three-quarters of the rally's 1,600 kilometre, five-day route through the country's expansive northern middleveld and highveld — midfield and highfield — a broad area outside Johannesburg defined by its changing vegetation and soils, rising from 600 to 1,800 metres above sea level. Water crossings, dense bushland and open plains are promised — maybe even a close encounter with one of Africa's famed natural predators. Sanders expects a close race but, he said, he's hopeful the conditions have parallels to Australia. A potential home advantage, only 10,000km from the farm. "To lose 10 to 20 seconds overshooting an intersection, having to do a U-turn and come back — I think that's where you're going to lose it," he said. Over the journey, riders and drivers will navigate an arid and unpredictable path. It's a solo race against the clock — no GPS, no directions, just a digital roadbook and instinct. How they reach the finish — that's largely up to them. It means sharpened wit is needed as much as a quick throttle to find the fastest route, often concluding at a campsite hundreds of kilometres from the start line. A victory is worth 30 points, second place 25, 20 for third. A retirement? Just one. And any one of Sanders' rivals could take the win. The championship's second-placed rider Tosha Schareina (ESP) spent part of the break winning a 650km race through Portugal and Spain. Third-placed Ricky Brabec (USA) won a rally in Las Vegas last week. Last year's champion Ross Branch — from neighbouring Botswana — is among the favourites too. But if having rivals chasing his tail light distracts him, Sanders doesn't show it. "I'm sort of all around it at the moment and have strengths everywhere," he said going into South Africa. "The quicker I can get back into that rhythm, the better the result will be." The South Africa Safari Rally runs April 19-24.
NDTV
18-05-2025
- Sport
- NDTV
Harith Noah Returns To Action At South African Safari
Indian bike rider Harith Noah will return to competitive racing after four months when he participates at the inaugural South African Safari Rally, which is Round 3 of the FIA FIM World Rally-Raid Championship, beginning Sunday. Noah was forced to exit Dakar 2025, in which a crash left him with a fractured wrist. "After Dakar, I needed time to recover from the injury, but everything went well and I'm back to full fitness now. This is my first race since the crash, so there are definitely some nerves, which is normal," said Noah. "But the South African Safari Rally is a new challenge for everyone, the route is unfamiliar territory across the board. The key is to stay calm, get used to the bike again, and take it one kilometre at a time," added Noah. South African Safari Rally brings the W2RC to South Africa for the first time and with extreme terrains and rapidly changing climates, it is tipped to be a standout fixture on the W2RC calendar. The 2025 W2RC season features five rounds across three continents, pushing riders through a wide spectrum of terrains and conditions. The year kicked off with the legendary Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia, followed by the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge. Now, the championship heads into uncharted territory with the debut of the South African Safari Rally. The final two rounds will take riders to Portugal for the BP Ultimate Rally Raid in September, before culminating with the iconic Rallye du Maroc in October
