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Day 2: The complete Dakar 2022 story; Mason Klein, Nasser Al-Attiyah shine
Ha’il (Saudi Arabia) 2 Jan. 2022: Lone rider representing INDIA successfully completed Day 2. Read Harith Noah story here.
Focus
After the overnight rain over Ha’il and northern Saudi Arabia, mist enveloped the area as the first competitors departed the bivouac in the wee hours. The second day’s programme of the 44th Dakar Rally gave pride of place to sand amid mountains reaching up to 1,500 masl and famous around the globe for their rock art. While there were parts with stones, sandy tracks made up 85% of the special, including 4% of dunes.
Transposed to the 333 km timed sector, these figures packed a real punch! As David Castera, Clerk of the Course, had underlined at the previous day’s briefing, the competitors had to be ready for the chips to come down. Stéphane Peterhansel and Carlos Sainz can only agree (see A crushing blow). The two Audi stars got a rude awakening.
Outlines
Daniel Sanders just had to hold his own today —easier said than done, even from the advantageous starting position that he had earned with yesterday’s tour de force. The man from Down Under logically decided to start in 15th place and make full use of the benefits of the new Dakar regulations. He surged past the 14 riders ahead of him to cross the finish line of the special in first place. It will come as no surprise that the GasGas biker posted the best time, 2′07″ faster than Pablo Quintanilla’s. Honda’s Chilean rider is also second in the general standings, where he trails the two-time stage winner by 3′07″.
Further back, Matthias Walkner conceded over 10 minutes as many other favourites made mistakes fatal to their title prospects: Kevin Benavides lost 36 minutes, Joan Barreda, 41, Toby Price, 47 and “Nacho” Cornejo, 53.
Nasser Al-Attiyah crushed the opposition after starting in tenth place, blasting past nine other cars along the way.
The only driver who was able to match his pace, Sébastien Loeb, made the sensible choice to stick to Al-Attiyah and Baumel’s slipstream and benefit from their flawless navigation. The Qatari leader has already built up a 12-minute margin over Loeb and, while Martin Prokop managed to limit the damage, the rest of the field were left licking their wounds. Audi’s Stéphane Peterhansel and Carlos Sainz are no longer even in contention (see A crushing blow).
The lightweight prototype category saw a new episode of the Seth Quintero Show, but things are still pretty close, with “Chaleco” López just 1′58″ behind the young American in the general standings. The SSV lead went from Pole to Pole as Aron Domżała won the stage and took over the pole position from Marek Goczał. Blue remains the colour of the week in the truck category, in which title holder Dmitry Sotnikov regained the upper hand over Eduard Nikolaev, but Aleš Loprais placed himself in third place to inject some contrast into the picture.
Performance of the Day
His surname may mean “small” in German, but Mason Klein is one of the greats! The Austrians at KTM have already added his name to their watch list in bold. The American, who celebrated his twentieth birthday by winning the Rally2 category in Morocco last October, his first overseas campaign, joined the big league today after finishing fourth, ahead of many big names.
Ecstatic at the “awesome” experience he had just gone through, once at the finish line, the rookie even explained how he had noticed some navigation errors by the bikers ahead of him and decided not to follow them in a show of exceptional maturity and audacity. The rider now sitting in fifth place overall has been surfing the deserts back home in California since he was twelve.
The desert is his stomping ground. Finishing as the top rookie in 2020 changed his life. His friend, countryman and training buddy, Skyler Howes, was signed by Husqvarna shortly afterwards. He names him his “mentor” without a second thought. Despite his performance today, he revealed a chink in his armour: “I’m definitely not in my element on the dunes”. It’s just a matter of time, kid!
Star of the Day
Third in the SSV standings and winner of a stage last year, Aron Domżała climbed back on top of the podium at the end of stage 1B of the 44th Dakar. As well as claiming his third career win in the most prestigious rally raid on Earth, the Can-Am driver pulled level with Łukasz Łaskawiec as the joint-second most prolific Polish Dakar stage winner, for a total of 15 Polish victories. Quad rider Rafał Sonik (6 stages), the only Polish Dakar champion to date, tops the record table. Krzysztof Hołowczyc (1), who finished on the bottom step of the car podium in 2015, is also a member of this select group.
World RallyRaid Championship
Nasser Al-Attiyah has an insatiable appetite in winter as in summer. His competitive spirit has catapulted him to five victories in the World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies (2008, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2021), of which he is the joint record holder with Jean-Louis Schlesser.
He is tackling the FIA World Rally-Raid Championship with the same panache. In Ha’il, he became the first competitor to score points in the competition. His tally of 5 points give him a razor-thin margin on Sébastien Loeb. At the same time, history may remember that two Argentinian racers, both of which are making their Dakar comeback in the first year of the W2RC after four years on the sidelines, are also among the first point scorers: Lucio Álvarez, with 3, and Sebastián Halpern, with 1.
Classic Freeze Frame
The France-Spain derby is under way! The two most numerous contingents in the Dakar Classic, with 44 French vehicles and 37 from the other side of the Pyrenees, are firmly ensconced in the top 10 and tied 1 for 1 after the first stage. Xavier Pina Garnatcha and Sergi Giralt Valero’s HDJ 80, one of 41 in the field, which opened their account in Ha’il, with the same points as the French Panagiotis couple’s Protruck, which conquered the first half of the stage between Jeddah and Ha’il yesterday.
Stéphane Lamarre, tenth in the inaugural edition of the Dakar Classic, let his Porsche 911 East Africa’s acceleration do the talking by entering the repair area. He climbed from sixth to third place, on the same points as another French couple in a Protruck, the Galpins, racing for Team FJ, the importer of Nascar to Europe, in fourth place. Also tied on points, but in fifth place, their compatriots Jean-Michel Gayte and Maxime Vial are ready to pounce in their Mitsubishi Pajero. Follow the return leg on the Saudi sand tomorrow!
Quote of Day 2 – Jan 2
Sébastien Loeb: “Everything turned out fine”
Loeb’s wide tyres did not save him from two punctures, but he put in a solid performance in second place.
“It really wasn’t simple, we messed up and started with two punctures before the neutralisation. There was no room for error in the second part. Then Nasser caught up with us, I was keeping it cool behind him. It was a bit easier with fewer rocks, so I thought we could keep going at a high pace and we made it to the finish in much better shape than at the neutralisation. Both Nasser and Matthieu are strong. You can see it from behind them….”
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Harith Noah completes Stage 1b successfully in 34th overall
Ha’il (Saudi Arabia), 2 Jan. 2022: Sherco TVS Rally Factory team rider Harith Noah KV began well and passed the first tough test successfully, completing Stage 1b, a special section of 333 km, and finished the Day at 34st place in the Moto RallyGP class here on Sunday. Teammate Lorenzo Santolino had a brilliant day finishing seventh overall while the next best from the Indian team, Hero, was youngster Aaron Mare, who put in a stunning performance to take 11th ranking. Daniels Sanders of Gas Gas team, won the stage for the second day running.
The other Sherco rider R Goncalves had a poor day but survived to finish the Day 2 course in 70st place. Meanwhile, Hero MotoSports Team Rally top rider Joaquim Rodrigues, too, suffered issues and finished the day in overall 30th place.
The 28-year from Kerala, Noah, the only rider to represent India, began on an aggressive note and kept himself in the top-30 riders but lost time in the last two sections but did improve a place from the 35th that he logged in the qualifying Stage 1A, which was a short 19-km special. He clocked 5hrs, 37min, 20sec. for the 333-km special section and ran a total of 514km course, incluing transpot section from Ha’il to Ha’il.
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Hero MotoSports team begins well; JRod 11th; Aaron 16th
Hail, 1 Jan. 2022: Hero MotoSports Team Rally begn their campaign with a 19-km Qualifying stage with Joaquim Rodrigues finishing a creditable 11th position to be able to select his starting position for the Stage 1b, when the Rally begins in right earnest with a 333-km long Special Section. The other Hero team member, Aaron Maré missed the mark narrowly, but finished Day 1 and Stage 1A in a remarkable 16th position in the Rally GP class of the Bikes section here in Hail, Saudi Arabia.
This edition of the Dakar Rally also marks the beginning of the newly announced FIA and FIM World Rally-raid Championships for cross-country rallying. Nicknamed #W2RC, the championship kicks off with the crown jewel Dakar, and aims to establish a calendar for the year that includes the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge in March, Rally Kazakhstan in April, Andalucía Rally in June, and ends with the Rallye Du Maroc in October 2022.
This new consolidation of top rallies is being considered a historic move, one which offers better regulations and solutions for the sustainable, long-term development of the Rally-Raid discipline, participating teams, manufacturers and riders.
The competitors in motorcycle category are subdivided into multiple classes as per the new championship format for #W2RC. The Hero MotoSports riders are participating in the premier class, named Rally GP, which comprises the top 27 riders in the championship. The other classes are Rally2, Rally3 and the Originals, a press release from Hero MotoSports said.
The short Qualifying stage, set in the middle of a long liaison between Jeddah and Ha’il, gave the top 15 finishers in the Rally GP Class an opportunity to choose their starting positions for the first stage on January 2.
With the administrative and technical scrutiny and the Covid-19 tests completed already, the participants rolled-off from the ceremonial podium at Ha’il on January 1 at 4pm IST, marking the official beginning of their Dakar 2022 campaign.
The first stage (1b) on Jan 2, of the Dakar Rally, will take the riders on a 513-km loop around Ha’il, with a 333-km long special. Here, the riders will get their first taste of the treacherous terrain, typical of the deserts of Saudi Arabia.
Wolfgang Fischer, Team Manager, Hero MotoSports Team Rally:
“The Dakar 2022 is not only the start of the new racing season but also of a new powerful World Championship which pushes the rally sport to a new level in many aspects. After a busy season participating in many races, we have put in consistent efforts to bring our riders and machines up to the next level of competitiveness and we look forward to proving this growth over the next two weeks.
JRod, the ever-constant in our team since the start in 2016, is well prepared for the Dakar. Franco and Sebastian, after having shown very promising results throughout 2021 unfortunately met with injuries that they have not recuperated from in time for the Dakar. CS Santosh is also still recovering from his crash at the previous Dakar.
In Aaron Maré we are happy to have a strong last-minute replacement. I am sure that he will deliver his best along with Joaquim to keep the Hero MotoSports flag flying high. We are grateful to be able to show our competence in this fascinating competition even during these difficult times. Greetings and best wishes for the New Year to all our fans around the world!”Joaquim Rodrigues:
“The qualifying stage today was not as easy as I expected. I started the stage strong, though the arm-pump made it difficult for me to maintain a good hold on the bike. Anyhow, I rode safe, aiming to bring the bike back to the finish line. Yet, I am happy that we finished in a good position. This was only the qualifying stage; we have a long way to go.”
Aaron Maré:
“Due to the reverse starting order today, I entered the race much later than the other competitors. I had a rough day, with the track being quite torn up and rocky. I took it easy and hoped to make it just outside the top 15 so that I have a better starting position tomorrow. I’m happy with the day.”
Provisional Rankings – Qualifying Stage (Rally GP Class)
1. Daniel Sanders Gas Gas Factory Team 55m 30s
2. Pablo Quintanilla Monster Energy Honda Team + 01m 00s
3. Ross Branch Monster Energy Honda Team + 01m 55s
4. Kevin Benavides Red Bull KTM Factory Team + 02m 00s
11. Joaquim Rodrigues Hero MotoSports Team Rally + 03m 05s
16. Aaron Maré Hero MotoSports Team Rally + 06m 30s
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fmsci Indian Motorsports Champions Lists: Yearwise
This article is work in progress: All the Indian champions in Motorsports over the years will be listed here. Watch out this space!
2021: List of fmsci Indian Motorsports Champions for year 2021 *TO BE Completed. Only four Nationals are completed. Year extended till 31 March 2022 by fmsci.
2021 List of fmsci Indian Motorsports Champions for year 2021
2020: List of fmsci Indian Motorsports Champions for year 2020
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Harith Noah successfully completes the 19-km Prologue in 35th overall
Jeddah, 1 Jan 2022: Sherco TVS Rally Factory team professional and international cross-country rider Harith Noah from India, began his Dakar 2022 sojourn on a successful note completing the gruelling transport section of over 590km of sandy terrain and rode on a cautious note with controlled aggression. The five-time Indian National champion with complete focus on navigation, finished a conservative 35th Overall from the 19-km Prologue on the New Year’s Day on Saturday but the plan is to preserve and finish, his third Dakar.
“Everything went well and the goal is finish without much fuss and we did exactly that. Now that we have a footing on the actual terrain, the 333-km Day 2 will is the immediate target,” said Harith Noah, back at his Bivouac, in Hail. The mountainous landscapes of Northern Saudi Arabia contribute to the contrasts of Dakar route. Sand is already on the menu, for now, in the shape of tracks. Be warned that this special is riddled with the fiendish navigation puzzles, typical of the country. And thus, the caution of Noah. Riders depend on their road books and memory. For cars, the focus will be on navigators, or co-drivers as they are called, as any competitors who try to take short cuts will be immediately slapped with time penalties.
However, the Kerala rider from India, is keen on putting the right foot forward, as he managed to finish the course for Day 1, clocking 1 hour, 7 minutes, 15 seconds taking 11 min, 45 seconds more than Daniel Sanders of Australia, who topped the Opening special section on Saturday covering a total distance of 614km amidst the sand dunes of Saudi Arabia.
Harith Noah, supported by TVS Racing, astride a Sherco 450 SEF Rally machine, is sponsored by TVS, Sherco, Scott India and CamelBak India, began on a positive note and will be gunning for a steady ride on Sunday, the second day of the gruelling Dakar, which will have Stage 1b from Hai’l to Ha’il, a 181km liaison distance (transport section) and 333km of actual Special Section stage on tough sands, the first longest test that will prepare the riders and drivers for tougher things to come.
The 409 vehicles on the start list inaugurated the Dakar like never before. After departing Jeddah along the Red Sea for a northbound 225 km transfer, the starting shot for the qualifying stage was fired at the entrance to the Medina region. The opening 19 km sprint was a sign of things to come: sandy tracks and dunes in an all-sand timed sector in which the entrants crowned and gobbled up dunes, sometimes even broken ones, and climbed to an altitude of close to 400 masl. On this power hike, competitors were expected to bring their A game from the beginning, much like young biker Daniel Sanders (see Stat of the day) and the evergreen Nasser Al-Attiyah, primed for victory by a bountiful 2021 season. The caravan then headed north-east for a 614 km liaison to Ha’il, where the grand start podium awaited the participants for tomorrow’s stage 1B on a loop course.
Harith Noah in Saudi Arabia for his 3rd Dakar successfully completes SS 1A in 36th Daniel Sanders, who claimed top rookie honours and finished just outside the podium last year, grabbed his maiden Dakar stage win in the opener. It was a first in more than one way, as the Australian also netted GasGas its first triumph in the most prestigious rally raid on Earth. As the icing on the cake, it was the first victory for the KTM 450, the latest showpiece of the Mattighofen factory, unveiled in Morocco last year. Spain’s GasGas is the 13th constructor to take a stage in the Dakar motorbike race. The rally had not feted a new winner since 2010, when Shercoand Aprilia opened their accounts. Let us see, if Sherco can throw a winner in the bike category.
AL-ATTIYAH VS LOEB
The newly elected FIA President, Mohammed bin Sulayem, travelled to Ha’il to witness the awarding of the very first FIA Cross-Country World Championship points. The Emirati former driver must have been delighted to see his heir take the lead at this momentous time. Not that Nasser Al-Attiyah is looking forward to an office with a commanding view of the Place de la Concorde in Paris! He is bin Sulayem’s successor in the sense that the Toyota driver has won the Middle East Rally Championship 11 times between 2003 and 2021, the same race that bin Sulayem won on almost every occasion from 1986 to 2002, with 14 titles in total. The game is on, but Al-Attiyah is currently focused on his incipient struggle with Sébastien Loeb.
NOTE: Noah position changed from 36th to 35th after it was upgraded officially.
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National Champions 2021: All* 12 motorsports disciplines
FMSCI Indian National Championships – 2021
1. MRF MMSC FMSCI Indian National Racing Championship
2. JK Tyre FMSCI Indian National Racing Championship
3. FMSCI Indian National Rally Championship
4. MRF MMSC FMSCI Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship
5. MRF MOGRIP FMSCI National Supercross Championship
6. MRF MOGRIP FMSCI National Rally Championship 2W
7. MMS FMSCI National Karting Championship
8. MMS Indian National Karting X30 Championship
9. MMSC FMSCI Indian National 2W Drag Championship
10. FMSCI Indian National Rally Sprint Championship 2021
11. Indian National Regularity Run (INRRC), the TSD nationals 2021
Some of the following results are for 2020, 2021 results will updated as and when the championships are completed.
1. National Racing Championship (NRC): 2W Champions for 2020
1. Indian Touring Cars: Driver – Arjun Balu (Coimbatore, Race Concepts, 151 points). Team – FB Motorsport (262)
2. Super Stock: Driver – Raghul Rangasamy (Mamallapuram, Performance Racing, 154). Team – Race Concepts (289).
3. MRF Saloon Car Series: Diljith TS (Thrissur, 113).
4. Formula LGB 1300: Driver – Tijil Rao (Bengaluru, 122). Team – Momentum Motorsport (215).
2. JK Tyre National Racing Championship 2020 (2021 yet to be completed)
LGB Formula 4: 1. Champ: Sandeep Kumar, Dark Don Racing –66 points;
2. Ashwin Datta, Dark Don Racing –63 points;
3. Vishnu Prasad, MSport –54 points
Novice Cup: 1. Champion: Amir Sayed, Msport – 120 points;
2. Dhruvin Gajjar, DTS Racing –49 points;
3. Aman Chaudhary, DTS Racing –46 points.
Ladies Class: 1. Champion: Anushriya Gulati, Ahura Racing;
2. Mir Erda; 3. Phoebe Nongrum.
Rookie Class: 1. Champion: Anushriya Gulati, Ahura Racing, 77 points.
3. Indian National Rally Championship (INRC) for 4-wheelers
1. 1. Gaurav Gill; 2. Karna Kadur; 3. Fabid Ahmer.
2.Co-Drivers: 1. Musa Sherif; 2. Nikhil Pai; 3. Eldo Chacko.
3. INRC2: 1. Sahil Khanna 78; 2. Dean Mascarenhas 77; 3. Rahul Kantharaj 62;
4. Co-drivers: 1. Vidit Jain 83; 2. Shruptha Padival 77; 3. Vivek Bhatt 66;
5. INRC2 Team: 1. Snap Racing; (Sahil Khanna 117; Lakshay 24) Total=141;
6. INRC3: 1. Fabid Ahmer 98; 2. Aditya Thakur 90; 3. Maninder Singh Prince 86;
7.Co-drivers: 1. Eldo Chacko 98; 2. Virender Kashyap 90; 3. Vinay Kumar Padmashali 86;
8. INRC3 Team: 1. Snap Racing; (Maninder 77; Amer Beg 7; Arjun Rao 7) Total =91.
9. INRC4: 1. Vaibhav Marathe 68; 2. Mujeeb Rehman 65; 3. Rohit Iyer 55;
10. Co-drivers: 1. Suhan MK (68); 2. Goutham CP (65); 3. Manjunath (62);
4. National Motorcycle Racing Championship 2021 (Fifth & final round concluded on 5 Feb. 2022 – Extended calendar)
- Pro-Stock 301 to 400cc: Rider: Rajini Krishnan (Chennai, RACR Castrol Power1 Ultimate). Team championship: TVS Racing. Manufacturer title: KTM.
- Pro-Stock 165cc Open – Rider: Jagan Kumar (Chennai, TVS Racing). Team Championship: TVS Racing. Manufacturer title: TVS.
- Novice (Stock 165cc) – Rider: Alwin Sundar (Chennai, AS ‘Anand-Sindy’ Motorsports). Team Championship: Sparks Racing. Manufacturer: xxx.
- Girls (Stock 165cc) – Rider: Ryhana Bee (Chennai, RACR Castrol Power1 Ultimate). Team Championship: RACR Castrol Power1 Ultimate. Manufacturer: xxx.
TVS One-Make Championship titles (NOT counted as NATIONAL Title as per fmsci)
- TVS One-Make Championship – Open (Apache RR310): Champion: Amarnath Menon.
- TVS Rookie (Apache RTR 200): Champion: Jinendra Kiran Sangave.
- TVS Media (Apache RTR 200): Champion: Soham Thakur.
Honda One-Make Championship titles (NOT counted as NATIONAL Title as per fmsci)
- Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup – NSF 250R: Champion: Kavin Quintal (Chennai).
- CBR 150cc: Champion: Prakash Kamat (Bokaro Steel City).
- Hornet 2.0: Champion: Kevin Kannan (Chennai).
6. MRF MoGrip National Rally Championship for 2W
- Overall champion: Samuel Jacob
8. Indian National X30 Karting Championship 2021
- Senior Class: Surya Varathan, Coimbatore
- Junior Class: Ruhaan Alva, Bengaluru
- Cadet Class: Ishaan Madesh, Bengaluru
9. Indian National Drag Championship 2w 2020:
1. Hemanth Muddappa (Mantra Racing, Above 1051cc and 851-1050cc);
2. Aiyaz (Pvt, 361-550cc and 131-165cc);
3. J Bharath Raj (Rulexx Rockers Racing, Up to 165cc, 226-360cc);
4. Ann Jennifer (Sparks Racing, Girls).
4. 2-Stroke: Aiyaz (131-165cc); Mohammed Rafiq (2S, Up to 130cc).
10. FMSCI Indian National Rally Sprint Championship 2020
PROMOTER = Motorsport INC
1. Group A Upto 800cc Class:
1. Sinan Francis (Ernakulam) KTM-EXC450 = 101 points
2. Sarath Mohan, Suzuki RMX450z, Mallapuram = 80 points
3. Vishwas SD (Bengaluru) Suzuki ?, = tied on 76 points
3. Badal S Doshi (Pune) Vishwas SD (Bengaluru) Suzuki RMX450z, = tied on 76 points
2. Group B 131cc to 165cc:
1. Pavan BK (Bengaluru) Hero Impulse = 130;
2. Ishan Chandra (Mangalore) Hero Impulse = 122;
3. Vinay Prasad = 84.
3. Group B 261cc to 400cc Class:
1. Sudeep Kottary (Mangalore) Duke 390 = 150;
2. Sajeesh Reghunathan = 104;
3. Uday Ganguli = 84.
4. Group B Upto 130cc Class:
1. Noldin Thomas (Ernakulam) Yamaha-YBX = 116;
2. Rakesh Kumar V =115;
3. Durgesh =93.
5. Group B 166cc to 260cc Class:
1. Sachin D (Bengaluru) TVS Apache = 150;
2. Yuvakumar = 90;
3. Sanjay Somashekar = 87.
6. Ladies Class: 1. Ryhana Bee (Chennai) Hero Impulse = 136;
2. Tanika Shanbhag (Satara) Hero Impulse = 119;
3. Dimpy A = 79.
7. Bullet Class:
1. Suhail Ahmed (Bengaluru) Himalayan = 125;
2. Devaraj Venkatesh Himalayan = 11;
3. Sarath Kumar = 81.
8. Scooter Class:
1. Karthik Naidu (Bengaluru) TVS N-Torq = 143;
2. Pinkesh Thakkar (Pune) Aprilla-SR125 = 105;
3. Goutham N = 90.
11. JK Tyre Indian National Regularity Run (INRRC), the TSD nationals 2021
Champions: Sk Ajgar Ali & Md. Musthafa were crowned champions
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TVS talent Harith Noah, lone rider to fly Indian flag at Dakar
Jeddah, 30 Dec 2021: Harith Noah is all set for a third innings, as the toughest and longest cross-country rally in the World acquires a double World Championship status with both FIA and FIM, coming together for a five-round Worlds for both four-wheelers and bikes.
After training abroad for over three months and fine-tuning his road-book and navigational skills in France and Spain, the Kerala star sponsored by TVS Factory Racing, is looking forward to finishing the Dakar once again astride a brand new Sherco 450 SEF Rally with tuner assistance from Sherco TVS Rally Factory team, which includes his engineer Prakasam.
“It is nimble and lighter and will help me in the super long race beginning with over 600km of riding including liaison for Prologue on New Year’s day,” he said from Jeddah, before embarking on a shakedown on Thursday. Prologue is bang in the middle of two transport sections, the 19-km Special Section sprint on dirt tracks and small dunes, will provide the riders a chance to test their bikes and also the first 15, in each category, will get a chance to choose their starting order for next day.
Noah, the 28-year Sports Science graduate, from Shoranur, Kerala, will be flying the Tricolour as a lone privateer from India. “I had a quiet and safe Christmas with my girlfriend and friends like family. I am relaxed and ready for the prologue with a long liaison and a longer event ahead. I am in the same truck as my teammate Rui. The target is to finish Dakar again,” added Noah, who has Lorenzo Santolino and Rui Goncalves, as teammates. He finished overall 20th last January to become the fastest in Dakar from India beating pioneer CS Santosh’s 34th place, in 2018. TVS compatriot KP Aravind from Bengaluru and privateer Mumbai mariner Ashish Raorane are the only other Indians who have taken part in Dakar. Noah, who made his debut in 2020, completed the coveted Dakar in the Experience Class that year and went on to beat the Indian record last year in January 2021.
The 44th Dakar rally begins with a Prologue on Saturday and the 12 long Stages will conclude on January 14. The rest day at Riyadh will be on January 8. Organised by Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO), it will be the third edition of Dakar in Saudi Arabia.
The Specials will start in Ha’il and end in Jeddah, going through canyons and cliffs in the Neom region, passing by the Red Sea coastline, into stretches of dunes surrounding Riyadh, with a lot more action on sand dunes in the Empty Quarter. The total distance of the route is over 7000 kms. Only an elite few, who were successful in another qualifier, join the world’s best at premier break-or-make event in the cross-country rally world.
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Amidst sands & Red Sea, when Dakar begins, India will be cheering for Harith Noah
Jeddah, 31 Dec 2021: The Indian fans will be cheering for Harith Noah, the fastest in Dakar from India last year. The last preparatory phase for the Dakar is taking place for the third consecutive year in Jeddah, on the shores of the Red Sea and the lone rider representing India in the 44th edition of the toughest rally in the world, the Dakar, is Harith Noah of Sherco TVS team. He will be cheered by thousands of fans from India. He completed his shakedown on Thursday and is raring to go wit the Prologue on Saturday, the New Year’s Day. Another Indian team, the highest manufacturer of two-wheelers in the World, Hero MotoCorp, will field a two-member Hero MotoSports Team Rally, led by J Rod and the first Indian to complete Dakar, CS Santosh, will be cheering them from the Bivouacs and sands in Saudi Arabia. Joaquim Rodriques will have Aaron Mare as his teammate who replaced an injured Franco Caimi.
This will be the sixth time at the Dakar for Joaquim who finished fourth in the 2021 FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship. The duo of Joaquim and Aaron will take on the challenges of the Dakar astride the powerful Hero 450 Rally and an expert team beside them.
Key points:
Aaron Marè from South Africa replaces injured Caimi. However, no Indian rider represents Hero for one more year. A Hero Photo Ø Whilst the King Abdallah Stadium has been taken over by the race officials responsible for the rally’s administrative checks and technical scrutineering, the doctors and their teams have also been busy in light of the COVID pandemic context in which the race is taking place. A campaign of 3,500 PCR tests has been organised for all people with a pass for the event. Indeed, the protocol implemented required a negative test to be able to travel to Saudi Arabia.
Ø After having satisfied the health requirements, the riders, drivers and crews summoned got to grips with the scrutineering circuit in order to be ready for the first stage to Ha’il on 1st January. The BRX team’s Sébastien Loeb and “Nani” Roma were able to give voice to their ambitions in the car category, just like the riders of the Honda team, who have won the last two editions on two wheels. However, their rivals at Yamaha have a new trump card in their pack in Andrea Peterhansel, charged with striving in the wings of the blue team to try and bring back the title that her husband won for the constructor in 1998.
Ø In an atmosphere of renewed acquaintances, many riders and drivers’ thoughts were with the six times winner of the truck category Karel Loprais, who died this morning in the Czech Republic.
SÉBASTIEN LOEB: “FIND THE RIGHT PACE AND REMAIN HUMBLE”
The French driver and nine-times world rally champion is making his 6th attempt at the Dakar on a race that has withstood his efforts since his first participation in 2016. Loeb will be racing for the second time in the colours of Team BRX, but in a car that has been significantly reworked since the previous edition, accompanied by a new co-pilot, Fabian Lurquin, with whom he has only competed in one race, on the Baja Aragon: “It hasn’t been one year without racing for me, but rather one year without a rally-raid. We’ve carried out tests, but perhaps not over as many kilometres as we would have liked to because we’ve had setbacks. However, the car is running really well and the feeling is very good with my new co-pilot. We’ve only just started competing together, so now we will have to make sure everything clicks into place: the Dakar is a complicated race and we will have to find the right pace and remain humble. What’s most important is that we have a reliable car. At any rate, we are fairly well prepared”.
PETERHANSEL BACK AT YAMAHA!
501 Shibalov Anton (rus), Nikitin Dmitrii (rus), Tatarinov Ivan (rus), Kamaz-Master, Kamaz 43509, T5 FIA Camion, action during the Dakar 2022’s Administrative and Technical scrutineering, from December 29 to 31, 2022 in Jeddah. Photo: Gigi Soldano / DPPI The Dakar 2021 was not a fondly remembered rally for Yamaha. None of the “Blues” managed to reach the finish. The brand with the tuning fork logo reacted by a hard turn. The first act was to reduce the team to three riders, followed by the second in which the figureheads in the management were changed and replaced by a… Peterhansel. This may seem like a joke, but Andrea Peterhansel, the new Yamaha sporting manager, is not the type to joke around about the Dakar. Under the name of Andrea Mayer, she even finished 5th on a bike in 2000 for KTM, before repeating this feat on four wheels in 2004 for Mitsubishi. Her knowledge of the event naturally made the difference when Yamaha were choosing the right person to get to grips with the situation: “Marc Bourgeois contacted me to help restructure the team. It’s not my prime occupation, but I do have 25 years of experience. We have made our decisions and will have to stick by them, but that’s just part of the job,” she explains. The third act in this sea-change was that Branch, Short and Van Beveren all took part in four legs of the world championship with a machine now under the technical supervision of Stéphane Peterhansel’s former mechanic, leading to a victory for the man from Botswana in Kazakhstan, a second place in Abu Dhabi for the Frenchman and a runner-up place in the world championship for VBA as well as in the constructors’ championship. So far, so good for the troop leader, who has been able to identify everybody’s qualities and limits before tackling the Dakar: “There is a great atmosphere and they’ve made progress throughout the year. Adrien has regained confidence and speed as well, Ross has learned to ride more calmly, whilst Andrew is already a very complete rider with excellent strategic qualities, a safe bet”.
DEATH OF KAREL LOPRAIS: THE CZECHS IN SHOCK
On the day when scrutineering started, the truck category has lost one of its leading historical figures. Beset by ill health for the last few weeks, Karel Loprais passed away this morning in the Czech Republic, where he became a veritable hero after triumphing on the Dakar six times behind the wheel of his Tatra truck (in 1988, 1994, 1995, 1998, 1999 and 2001). The driver from Ostrava was the pride of his country, where he was named road safety ambassador, and could also lay claim to a prestigious place in the history of the Dakar.
Only Vladimir Chagin (with 7 titles) and Stéphane Peterhansel (with 14 titles) lie ahead of him on the roll of honour. Following his success on the tracks and dunes, he retained close links with the discipline, passing on his passion to all his family, especially his nephew Aleš, who is present today to undergo the checks prior to his 15th Dakar as a driver. The man who discovered the Dakar as navigator in his uncle’s crew emotionally explained: “He was an icon for us. He was the figurehead for motorsport and the truck category in the Czech Republic. We were constantly in touch because we build the trucks together. He would come and see us each morning to have a coffee and see how our “ladies” are doing, that’s what we call them. So, it’s a loss that can’t be described… but he will be here in our hearts with us on this rally. He was always positive about our chances, without giving me advice but simply telling me, ‘You know what you need to do’”. The Dakar organisation teams would like to present their sincere condolences to the family, friends and all those close to Karel Loprais, starting with the members of the Instaforex Loprais Praga Team.
Czech Dakar hero Karol Loprais dead 30dec2021. Photo courtesy YouTube @WorldNewsAgency -
First FIA-FIM Worlds begin at Dakar 2022; Rally-raids reach its apogee
Ø The Harith Noah of Kerala will be the only rider representing Indian in Dakar 2022. CS Santosh, the first Indian to compete and finish Dakar, in 2015 will be in Saudi Arabia to cheer up the Hero MotoSports team of three foreign riders.
Ø 2022 season marks a turning point for rally-raids with the inception of World Championships consisting of the same five races for the FIA and FIM. After the show gets on the road with the start of the Dakar in Jeddah, the competition will head to Abu Dhabi in March, Kazakhstan in April, Andalusia in June and for the final round at Morocco in October.
Ø As soon as the news came out, the constructors with skin in the game jumped in to set the stage for this melodrama and a clash featuring the greatest champions. Expect to see a close-run and unpredictable competition in both the car and the motorbike categories.
Ø A total of 53 crews representing 6 constructors have already signed up for the FIA World Championship, while 15 bikers riding for 6 constructors have thrown their hats into the ring for the FIM World Championship.
Jeddah, 30 Dec 2021: The stage is set for a mammoth battle. Most of the contenders on the start line of the 44th edition of the Dakar are taking up a challenge for the entire 2022 season in the hopes of claiming the world champion title at the end of the five rounds on the programme. In the car category, the four main teams will fight for the crown while some independent teams could manage to get some interesting results. The leading Dakar constructors are banking on their champions, starting with Nasser Al-Attiyah, who has won the competition five times in the “World Cup” format. Remarkably consistent throughout the season, the Qatari will face stiff competition from the likes of Sébastien Loeb, who has a shot at what would be his tenth FIA world championship after racking up nine consecutive WRC titles between 2004 and 2012. The concept of this serialised competition has also convinced his BRX teammate Joan “Nani” Roma to give it a go. Other rock-solid candidates such as Toyota’s Yazeed Al-Rajhi and X-Raid’s Jakub Przygoński have also picked up the gauntlet. Certain outsiders unused to shining throughout the season will now be in a position to take the fight to the favourites. This role is the perfect fit for drivers such as Mathieu Serradori and his SRT Racing buggies, as well as MD Rallye Sport’s Jean-Rémy Bergounhe and Guerlain Chicherit, who is back behind the wheel and, perhaps, back in business.
Dakar2022 beckons. All the participants pose for a freeze and Harith Noah, will keep the Indian flag flying. An ASO image from DPPI / Julien Delfosse A look at the start list for the motorbike category also promises full-blown battles packed with emotions. Basking in the glow of his 2021 Dakar victory, KTM’s Kevin Benavides will be a man to watch, but his favourite status could be put in doubt as soon as January, not least by his teammate Matthias Walkner, the 2015 and 2021 world champion, but also by the other former Dakar winners riding Austrian motorbikes, Toby Price and Sam Sunderland. It goes without saying that Honda will also be in the mix, with Ricky Brabec as a dependable asset, but also with his new stablemate at the Japanese constructor, Pablo Quintanilla, who already tasted glory in 2016 and 2017. A strong performance on the Saudi tracks and dunes will be required to avoid being knocked out of contention in the first round. Harith Noah, who churned in a stunning performance in January 2021, in his second Dakar, finished Overall 20th, and it become the best-ever performance in the Indian Dakar history.
The desire to hold jousts year-round has a lot to do with the champions, but rally raids also whet the appetite of private structures that race on the same terrain and also come out all guns blazing. The T3 and T4 categories have all the ingredients for a competition in which amateurs sometimes carry the day. For example, among the lightweight prototypes, Cristina Gutiérrez (OT3-Red Bull) and “Chaleco” López (CanAm-South Racing) will have to keep a close eye on candidates such as Jean-Luc Pisson (PH-Sport) and Annett Fisher (Yamaha), who intend to go the distance for all 5 rounds. Among the SSVs, Austin Jones (CanAm-South Racing) will also have his work cut out for him, with drivers such as the Italian Eugenio Amos and the young Lithuanian Rokas Baciuska snapping at his heels in equivalent machines.
Finally, the launch of this new formula has given FIA the opportunity to create a separate category for trucks, for which new regulations have been devised. Two teams will be leading the charge and building momentum for the competition: Big Shock Racing Team, spearheaded by Czech Martin Macík, and Fesh-Fesh Team, with Albert Llovera at the helm.
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Mumbai’s racer Manisha Kelkar, a step away from McLaren seat in GT Cup
Mumbai, 29 Dec. 2021: Mumbai’s Formula-4 racer Manisha Kelkar is one step away from becoming the first Indian woman to win a special McLaren driving seat for the year 2022.
The popular actress passed all the assessment tests organised a few weeks back in the United Kingdom by Formula Woman. The results were announced this weekend, a press release revealed.
‘I am the only Indian to qualify from the worldwide hunt held in the UK.800 women from 16 countries took part making it one of the biggest talent hunts,’ Manisha said. ‘We all had to first pass tough written and fitness tests. Then, I had to showcase my driving technique and skills to inch closer to my dream,’ she added.
Six ladies will earn fully-paid seats to compete in the prestigious McLaren GT Cup Championship in England. Two other Indian girls, who took part in a qualifying session in India itself, are likely to be part of the final round of selection.
Formula Woman founder and CEO Graeme Glew confirmed Manisha’s selection in a mail. ‘Congratulations on becoming one of the select successful finalists. The finals will be held in the UK on March 2 and 3,’ he said.
Manisha has been racing in the Indian National Racing Championship for the last three years. An avid motorsports lover, she has tried her hand at rallying too. She is keen on starting a racing academy to help other girls take up the exciting sport.
‘I have loved to race since I was a kid. It has opened many avenues for me and I want young girls to follow in my footsteps,’ she said, disclosing her future goals.
Manisha is a well-known face in Bollywood. She has acted in several Hindi and Marathi movies and serials and is all set to host a new show on television.
“It is good to see that more women are taking up motorsport seriously. Manisha is passionate about the sport & we wish her the best,” said Rayamond Banajee, former multiple National champion and the brain behind Rayo Racing Academy, where Manisha, sponsored by HPCL, will train in Mumbai for the next two months.
