TEAM
FULL THROTTLE
Meet the team for Dakshin Dare 2011
Sanjay Takale Driver
Winner of the Ndure category at the 2011 Desert Storm rally, Sanjay Takale has been a top performer in national and international rallies for several years. He has been a consistent performer in Desert Storm, having won accolades in the 2007, 2009 and 2010 editions of the rally.
2011 has been a particularly good year for Sanjay, as he has already won the Malaysian Rally Championship as well as the SIAM Baja 4X4 Thailand Rally.
Sanjay, the adventurer, loves dirt biking and travelling; his favourite rallies are Raid-de-Himalaya and Dakar.
Rahul Sancheti Navigator
Having started his motorsport career as a Navigator with local rallies in 1992, Rahul Sancheti has had several successes in national rallies. He made a winning debut for team Full Throttle, securing victory in the NDURE category at the Desert Storm 2011 along with Sanjay Takale.
Rahul showed early signs of being a champion navigator by winning awards at the 1993, 1994 and 1995 editions of the Ashtavinayak Rally. After a short break from motorsport, he made a stunning return by winning the West Zone trophy in the 2005 Airtel One India Challenge. Since then, he has won prizes at the Raid-de-Himalaya (2006, 2007, 2008 and 2010) as well as the Desert Storm 2009 rally.
With a penchant for adventure, Rahul loves to trek and travel; his favourite rallies include Raid-de-Himalaya and DAKAR.
Amol Satosker Driver
A young and flamboyant driver, Amol Satosker drove the Tata Indica Vista 90 to victory in the Manufacturer Car class at Dakshin Dare 2011. In February he won his first award for Team Full Throttle, securing 3rd position in the NDURE A category of the 2011 Desert Storm rally.
Amol won his first major accolade in the TSD Goa in 2000. He also stood first in the 2004, 2007 and 2008 edition of the Auto Cross Rally. His other major achievements include podium positions in Dakshin Dare Rally 2009 and 2010 and Raid de Himalaya in 2010. He has won over 14 awards in the last 10 years.
Amol's favourite rallies include the Raid-de-himalaya, Nestor, Dakshin Dare and Desert Storm rallies. Sebastian Loeb, the champion rally driver from France, is his biggest inspiration.
Chidanand Murthy Navigator
Navigator for Amol Satosker, Chidanand Murthy has successfully directed his Tata Motors Full Throttle cars to back-to-back victories in 2011, first at Desert Storm, then at Dakshin Dare.
Chidananda started his rally career in 1996, in the 2-wheeler category. The Limca Book of World Record recognized Chidanand's feat of covering India's 8 Highest Passes (including the five highest passes in the world) in 13 Hours 43 Mins.
Chidananda has also been a part of the organizing committee for many rallies in India, including the Indian National Rally championship. Chidananda was victorious at Desert Storm 2009 and Raid-de-Himalaya 2010.
Girija Shankar Joshy Driver
The hero of the Dakshin Dare 2011 rally, Girijashankar Joshy made a winning debut for Team
Full throttle by coming 2nd overall in the Endurance category and by winning the Manufacturer SUV class in it.
Girijashankar debuted in 2005 as a rally driver and made an immediate impact by winning
the 2005 Tura challenge in the Indian National Rally Championship of Meghalaya. Placed 1st in Rally star cup category, 2nd overall and also fastest in the super special stage gave him 3 trophies to take home!
Girijashankar loves listening to music and his favourite rally driver is Sebastian Loeb. His favoruite rallies include the K1000 rally of Bangalore and the WRC Rally of Finland.
Chandramouli Navigator
Ace navigator, Chandramouli made his winning debut for the Tata Motors Full Throttle team at Dakshin Dare 2011. He along with Girijashankar Joshy helped the team secure 2nd overall in the Endurance category and 1st in the Manufacturer SUV class.
Chandramouli started his rally career riding bikes in 1995. After 5 years he took a break from rallying but made a comeback in 2002. He became the Rally Star Cup co-driver champion in 2004 INRC. He subsequently achieved many accolades and also won a round of 4*4 Malaysian Rally Championship. He also became the co-driver champion in the 2000cc Group N category of 2010 INRC.
Chandramouli, though an Architect by profession, is passionate about Rallying and dreams of co-driving a WRC driver in his career.
Arjun Balu Driver
With over 17 years of experience in motorsport, Arjun Balu is a critical part of the Tata Motors Full Throttle team. He joined the team during the 2011 Desert Storm rally, where he won the 4th position in the NDURE A category. He followed it up by securing 2nd position, driving the Tata Indica Vista 90, in the Manufacturer Car Class of the Endurance category at Dakshin Dare 2011.
Arjun joined MRF as a racing driver in 1995 and has been a part of all major rallies ever since. He has been actively participating in the National championship since 1996 and has won prizes during the 1998, 1999, 2000, 2003, 2005 and 2009 Rallies.
Arjun enjoys playing tennis and mountain biking; and his favourite racing driver is Ayrton Senna.
Sujith Kumar Navigator
With a career spanning over 21 years, Sujith Kumar has participated in over 70 four-wheeler rallies and 140 two-wheeler rallies. In team Full Throttle he has been the navigator to Arjun Balu and has guided the team to 2 back to back successes in the Desert Storm and Dakshin Dare 2011 rallies.
Sujith has won over 7 national championship events and 3 national championship titles. A few notable wins include the Castrol National Rally championship of 1996 and MAI Indian National Rally championship of 2001 and 2004.
Sujith's favourite racing driver is "Ayrton Senna" and his motto in racing is "To finish first, you have to first finish!". His favoruite rally is the "Rally of Maharashtra".
Raj Singh Rathore Driver
Having started his racing and rallying career 18 years ago, Raj Singh Rathore joined team Full Throttle and immediately claimed 2nd position in the NDURE A category at the Desert Storm 2011.
Before becoming a rally car driver in 2009, he raced bikes, participating in the bike category of the Raid-de-Himalaya in 2000 and 2003. Considered to be India's first Quad Biker in motorsport, he participated in the 2008 edition of the Raid-de-Himalaya, where he was named by the 'Global book of world records' as "India's most daring rider". He has also actively participated in the Desert Storm rally since 2005.
Raj runs his own motorsport club, and his favourite rally car driver is Tommi Makinen. Raid-de-Himalaya and DAKAR are his favourite rallies.
Chanrashekhar M Navigator
Having started his rallying career in 1995 in the 2-wheeler category, Chandrashekhar M has actively participated in auto cross, drag racing, hill climb, stage and TSD rallies. As navigator for Raj Singh Rathore, he won 2nd position in the NDURE A category at the Desert Storm 2011.
Chandrashekhar is an extremely experienced navigator and has participated in over 300 rallies including the Raid-de-Himalaya (2001-2010), Indian National Rally championship and the Desert Storm Rally. He has won over 150 motorsport awards in his career.
Abhijeeth Pai Driver
Having been in motorsports now for 13 years, Abhijeeth Pai started his rally career at the age of 18. Even though he started off his career on 2 wheelers, he graduated to 4 wheelers and recently became a part of Team Full Throttle. He drove the Tata Safari at Dakshin Dare 2011.
Abhijeeth Pai in his early days won top honors at the COFFCLAN Rally, Daredevils Rally and K1000 novice category in 2005. Having graduated to cars in 2003, Abhijeeth won podium positions in several rallies and won first position at the Kerala Rally of 2007.
Abhijeeth Pai loves listening to music and is an animal lover. His passion for driving is epitomized by his 56 day cross-country drive, across the states in India, covering over 15000 kms in 2004.
E. Velumurugan Navigator
Participating in TSD Rally events as a organizer and Navigator for the last 15 years, E. Velumurugan is a seasoned campaigner in Motorsports. He was the tactful navigator on the Tata Safari driven by Abhijeeth Pai in the Dakshin Dare 2011 rally as a part of the Full Throttle team.
Velumurugan has been participating as a Navigator and winning several prizes at various top Indian Motorsport rallies. He has won top honours at Dakshin Dare 2010 (Novice Class), Hi-Tech Adventure Rally 2010 (Erode) amongst other rallies. He has also secured 2nd position in the SUV class at Raid-de-Himalaya in 2010.
Velumurugan's interest not only lies in participating in rallies, but also organizing them. He has been actively conducting TSD rallies since 2008 as well as Autocross Drag events.
Sudhir Kashyap Driver
With over 20 years of experience in Motorsport, Mr.Sudhir Kashyap is one of the most popular figures in motor-sporting circles, commanding the respect of drivers and officials alike.
Sudhir has successfully led Team Full Throttle to back-to-back successes in its very first year, sweeping the NDURE category in Desert Storm 2011and winning the manufacturer car and SUV classes in the Dakshin Dare 2011.
Sudhir counts Raid-de-Himalaya and Dakar amongst his favourite rallies, and uses his spare time for off-roading and travelling.