Aakash Desai is chief of controls for this week's ARA Eastern Regional event in Pennsylvania
Photography by Nick Gichenko & Raphael Orlove
Words by David Evans, DirtFish Head of Media
It’s not often a radio is switched on in the hope it stays silent. That’ll be the case for Aakash Desai when he settles back in the seat of his car somewhere between the STPR stages in the Pennsylvanian countryside this week.
Desai is the chief of controls for the latest ARA Eastern Regional Championship round. Volunteers like him are the backbone of the sport around the world. Without Aakash and his fellow organizers, the woods – as well as the radios – would be staying quiet around Wellsboro.
“I love this sport,” Desai told DirtFish quietly, “I have done since I was six months old.”
You get the feeling he’s used this line before.
“I was born in India,” he added, “but I was brought up in Dubai. When I was six months old, my dad took me to my first event. I always tell people it was the fumes from the cars on that first rally that got my wiring messed up and made me love this sport!”
Rallying has always been a family affair for Aakash Desai (right), here on 2022 STPR
Desai’s own story in the sport really gathers momentum when he moved to America.
“I did some marshaling in the Middle East,” he said, “but it was here that I got more and more involved. I actually drove in STPR and New England in a Subaru in 2015. Competing is great, but volunteering is really a fantastic way to get involved in the sport. You know, you get the swag and you get to be part of this big family!
“I marshaled for years, but moved on to being a stage commander and driving zero cars, but I have a new job for this year as chief of controls.”
Desai is the link between the stage commanders and the wider running of the rally. From SS1 on Thursday night to the final test on Saturday evening, stage-based officials will keep in touch with Desai who will be positioned strategically on the route.
Now taking the role of STPR chief of controls, Aakash is leaving the zero car for someone else to drive
“Basically, I’ll spend the event sitting in a car with the assistant clerk of the course hoping the radio stays silent,” said Desai. “Of course, we know it won’t. This is the way the sport is. I remember when I was working as stage commander, we had a car driving the wrong way towards the stage finish. It was a local who was returning home and wanted to get back to their house which was on the stage – they’d forgotten about the rally.
“We were able to sort that out. Another interesting situation was when we had some people on horses in the stage!
“You have to be ready for anything and ready to jump in and fight some fires. Preparation is so important in what we do, we will be up and around really early in the mornings on the event and we won’t be getting to bed until we know everything is right. From my side, it’s vital we get the volunteers into the stages early, to have them in position way before the triple zero car is coming.
“We should not be the reason why there are delays on the stages – it’s the same when I was driving the double and triple zero cars, you are there to do your job and make the rally run smoothly. You can’t be the reason for any kind of delay. Setting up the stages has to be a quick, efficient and safe process and that’s what we’re there to help facilitate.”
Having served his time on the stages, Aakash will play a key role away from the frontline on this week's STPR
Doesn’t it bother Desai that, despite all his hard work, he’s highly unlikely to see a rally car in stage mode this week?
“Not at all,” he said. “I’ve been in the sport a long time now and I started marshaling in America when Travis [Pastrana] and Ken [Block] were competing. I’ve flagged David Higgins and Oliver Solberg off the line and taken their [time] cards at the end of stages as well. I’ve had those opportunities, but as I’ve gotten older I’ve taken more responsibility and I’m OK with not seeing the cars in full flight.”
Such is Desai’s determination to drive American rallying forwards, he’s going to be introducing his own children to the sport at Overmountain in September.
“Volunteering is vital for our sport,” he said. “That’s why I want to bring my children and show them what it’s all about. As a volunteer you’re going to be in the forest for a few hours to enjoy the sport for a few minutes as the cars go by, but you’re there as part of a wider family and you’re there to keep people safe. It’s worth every second of those minutes and hours.”
This week’s STPR includes 17 stages and 136 competitive miles between a Thursday night start and Saturday evening finish.
Words:David Evans
Tags: Aakash Desai, ARA, ARA 2025, STPR, STPR 2025
Publish Date July 8, 2025 DirtFish
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