Pune: Kanchanaburi in West Thailand has a special place in the history of World War II where the bridge on River Kwai became a haunting piece of tale that takes one through rainforests, rivers and misty mountains-a terrain that awaits Pune’s international rally driver Sanjay Takale in the fourth and
final round of the Thailand Rally Championship.
“I have come here to complete my all rounds of the championship though I may not be in contention for the overall podium finish, but the scores of stories this particular area has pulled me here,” said Takale from Kanchanaburi before Friday’s recce over the course that hides the ghastly secrets where ‘Death Railway’ was built connecting Thailand and Burma, now Myanmar.
Having limped through the third and penultimate round in Phetchabun province in October before pulling out, Takale is hopeful that his car is well-prepared this time.
“I would like to finish the rally on a strong note and end the year on a high. That will be some impetus for starting the new season afresh,” said Takale as he prepared to go over the eight special stages in Kanchanaburi where the decisive battle of World War II was fought between the Japanese army and the allied forces.
After Friday’s recce, the rally drivers will continue the recce on Saturday morning before the three special stages lined up for Saturday evening.
The Pune rally driver will be driving Isuzu DMax utility vehicle for Delo Sports team with Thanyaphat Meenil as his navigator. Given that Meenil is in line for Co-driver’s title, Takale is eager to make this round count even though it may not be the same case for him as regards to the fight for the podium.
The championship leader Atthayut will be behind the wheels of highly made up Toyota, which has shown greater control over the slippery terrains.
Challenges galore
Takale has weathered several challenges over the last three rounds--he was stuck to wrong choice of tyres in Round 1 in the rally held on Thailand-Cambodia border where he finished second. In the second round Takale braved to finish in fourth position and earned some crucial points for his team in Lopburi, and finally in the third round he was forced to pull out midway through when column string pinion of his vehicle malfunctioned.
He had finished six stages of the 9-stage rally but lost time after the malfunction happened in the third stage and was not able to steer the car towards left that cost him time after every stage.
