Sanjay Takale overcame a wrong selection of tyres to finish a creditable second in the 4x4 Open class in round 1 of the Thailand Pre-Rally Championship in Nakhon Ratchasima Province, bordering Cambodia.
Takale had come with hard-knobbed tyres, suited for muddy terrains, but had soft gravel roads to contend with. However, he managed to keep his Isuzu DMax utility vehicle under control despite struggling for grip.
The Pune rally driver drove for Delo Sport with experienced Thanyaphat Meenil as his navigator.
Choice of tyre made us pay early. Even though I struggled to find grip with hard and knobbed tyres, sometimes no grip on soft gravel terrain, we managed to put up a great show to finish second overall, said Takale.
Isuzu driver Wichawat Chotrawee, who had no. 1 navigator Chupong Chaiwan of Thailand by his side,won the 4x4 Open class ahead of Takale.
Takale was up against a Toyota driver, whose car had gravel tyres that suited the soft and fast terrain of Huay Bong.
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A total of 37 cars competed over nine special stages that comprised three stages going thrice over for a total distance of 72.48 km.
Our team came fitted with mud tyres of hard compound, but I still managed to keep my car clean on the fast lines and beat my teammate, who was seeded ahead of me, added Takale.
The two-day rally was the precursor to the four-round Thailand National Rally Championship 2018 that opens in the first week of July.
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