Mahindra Adventure team completed a clean sweep of the top honours as Pune’s Sanjay Takale (co-driver Mustafa) won the title in the Endurance category (TSD format) as the curtain came down on the fourth Maruti Suzuki Dakshin Dare Rally here Saturday after completing a run of 2,000 Kms over five days.
The experienced Takale, driving a Mahindra XUV 500, maintained his lead to clinch the crown with a total penalty time of one minute, 24 seconds, ahead of KP Karthick Maruti (Sankar Anand) who were also in a vehicle of the same make.
Last year’s winners, the husband-wife duo from Bangalore, Satish Gopalakrishnan and Savera D’Souza in a Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara, came in third with a penalty of two minutes, 02 seconds after briefly leading the field.
With Takale and Maruti achieving a one-two for Mahindra, they emulated the feat of Gaurav Gill (Musa Sherif) and Lohitt Urs (Chupong Chaiwan) who both driving the XUV 500, took the top two spots in the Ultimate category that was open to vehicles in a Rally trim Friday.
The results (provisional):
Endurance (TSD): Sanjay Takale / Mustafa (Mahindra XUV 500) 1 (1min, 24secs); KP Karthick Maruti / Sankar Anand (Mahindra XUV 500) 2 (01:45); Satish Gopalakrishnan / Savera D’Souza (Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara) 3 (02:02).