Casale dedicates Dakar result to his father.

PHOTO CREDIT: BUGGYRA Racing.

Ignacio Casale, a name associated with a lot of success in cross country racing, including the world's toughest race, the Dakar Rally. 

The Chilean drivers' adventure started over 12 years ago alongside his father, competing in the trucks category. The father and son duo claimed a 26th-place finish, a result that earned Casale a wildcard entry for the 2011 Dakar Rally, and thereafter the rest is history. 

He returned to the Dakar Rally in 2011 in motorbike category in where he finished 40th overall. The following year he moved over to the quads category and claimed a strong fourth-place finish. 

A year later in 2013, Casale made history when he won stage 7 to become the first Chilean rider to win a stage in the quad's category and went on to finish second overall in the classification. 

In 2014, he went one better and won 13 stages on course to win his first of three Dakar Rally's. He returned to defend the title in 2015, but unfortunately, it didn't go according to plan as he retired due to a mechanical issue.

He then returned in 2016 but was forced to withdraw due to an injury, but a year later he returned to seal a second title on a quad bike. 

Having reached a lot of success in the quad category, Casale moved to the SSV category in 2018, but it didn't go to plan as he withdrew after stage six due to a mechanical issue and returned a year later on a quad bike to claim a third Dakar title in the quads category.

Would he return in 2021? Yes, he did! The Chilean made the switch to the Trucks category where his Dakar adventure started over 12 years ago as earlier mentioned, and he finished 9th place in the overall standings. A result he would later dedicate to his father. 

"I would like to dedicate my 9th place to my father. It was with him when I did my first Dakar in a truck 12 years ago," Casale said.

Casale's move from the quads category was quite a surprise for many, but little did we know that he was in talks with the Buggyra Racing team since 2019. 

Being realistic the Chilean set the goal of achieving a top 10 finish in the truck category which he successfully achieved in 2021. 

The Chilean claimed his best result of the 2021 Dakar Rally on stage 8, a fifth-place finish.

"Big thanks also to the whole family for their support and the whole Buggyra Racing team. It is the best Dakar team I’ve ever had," the Chilean said. "My navigator Álvaro (León) did a fantastic job, and co-driver David (Hoffmann) as well. He had lots of patience with us. It’s very emotional. Thanks to everybody!" 

Written By - Junaid Samodien.