Harith Noah finishes P29 in Prologue; Ashish 73rd: Dakar begins on a positive note

AlUla (Saudi Arabia) 29 Dec. 2023: The fastest Dakar rider representing India, Harith Noah, began his fifth Dakar cautiously but finished in 29th place in the Prologue. With 142 riders taking the start in the Dakar, it was a creditable show that rules his starting position for the Stage 1 on Day 1 tomorrow, the 6th January 2024. But in his Rally2 class, Harith Noah finished a noteworthy 9th place clocking at time of 21 minutes, 14 seconds, about 1min 31sec, behind the leader in his class.

Harith Noah said: “The prologue was short and sandy with tricky navigation. I had to turn around to get a waypoint, but I didn’t waste too much time. This is the usual for the prologue, but it’s over now and I’m looking forward to stage 1 tomorrow”.

The clock started today for the participants in the 2024 Dakar with the prologue. They had to race on a 27-km course through canyons around AlUla. The Sherco riders did not take any risks and approached the prologue as a warm-up before the real start and the first stage tomorrow, 127-km liaison and 414 km of special from AlUla to Al Henakiyah.

The journey once again began as a Team Sherco TVS Factory Rally rider, Noah, who became the fastest at Dakar, scoring a note-worthy top-20 performance in 2022 bettering the result of CS Santosh, is all set to overcome the drawback he suffered last year. Other Sherco riders, Lorenzo Santolino finished the Prologue at P12 while the third rider, Rui Goncalves ended the opening day at P18.

Ashish manages P73

The other Indian rider, Pune privateer Ashish Raorane, managed to finish P73 in his class, the Rally2. He clocked a time of 31min, 25sec.

Lorenzo Santolino:

“I just finished the prologue. The course was sandy and went through several canyons. There were a few rocks hidden in the sand, but it was a beautiful spectacular course here in Alula. I felt good on the bike, although perhaps I was a little tense the first kilometers, but overall, I rode comfortably. There were a lot of tracks, but I didn’t put much trust in them, so I did not follow them. I tried to follow the roadbook all the time because there were lots of notes, course changes, and quite a few waypoints. I wasted some time making this choice, but honestly, from halfway through the prologue, I felt comfortable following

the navigation and I think that this will help me to better understand the navigation of this Dakar and

start better prepared for tomorrow. I didn’t make any big mistakes during this prologue and that is a positive outcome. The important thing is that I felt good on the bike, and I am physically fit.

I finished 12th, a good position to tackle serious things tomorrow with the first real stage “.

Rui Gonçalves:

“Today the prologue took place with almost 100% sand. Some very fast tracks and lots of changes of direction. We therefore had to be very careful with navigation and this is what I managed to do. And yes, I had a good feeling on the bike, and I have a team that does a great job. I’m happy to be here for another Dakar, and we will try to improve every day. For now, the result is good, so tomorrow the real stages begin. We will therefore remain focused, and we hope that the days to come will allow us to do well. Thank you all for your support “.