Dakar Rally 2026: Sanjay Takale becomes the first Indian to win a stage in 4W category

Sanjay Takale scripted history in Saudi Arabia, becoming the first Indian to win a stage in the 4-wheeler category at one of the toughest Dakar Rally Classic 2026 on Sunday.

Sanjay, alongside his French co-driver Maxime Raud, finished stage 1 of the High Speed Class 3 category race in first position ahead of two Spanish riders.

On Saturday, he also became the first Indian to win a Prologue run to begin his campaign, where he topped the Group H3 category and overall 35th position in the Cars classification.

The 52-year-old made his debut at Dakar Classic last year, and now, within a span of a year, he also won the title in Stage of-1 of the H3 category.

He won the H3 Group with a 265 total points, edging ahead of the second-place Jose Sole of Spain by a big difference of 333 points, showcasing the dominance in his group.

Overall, Takale finished the classic car competition in 22nd place, with Italian Marco Leva of High Speed Group 1 winning the race with 71 points.

Sanjay will be aiming to continue his form and register a few more stage wins in the coming days of the 14-day-long competition in the Middle East.