INDIA in F1

Tag: BP Ultimate Rally Raid Portugal

  • Harith Noah overcomes a nasty fall to finish P12

    Harith Noah overcomes a nasty fall to finish P12

    Grandola (Portugal), 3 April 2024: Ace Indian rider and Dakar 2024 Rally2 winner, Harith Noah of Kerala, managed a tough day and overcame a nasty fall to finish Day 1 in the BP Ultimate Rally Raid Portugal stage 1 successfully on Wednesday. Despite the fall and a technical issue, the Sherco TVS Rally Factory team rider finished overall 12th and 5th in Rally2 class.

    “A technical problem in the prologue followed by a crash in stage 1, but I am healthy and ready for tomorrow. Although in terms of km it wasn’t much, it felt like a long day separated into the prologue, first part of stage 1 and second part. A lot of water puddle and very wet areas made it difficult. Learned a lot and feel a little more calm for tomorrow…,” said Noah after the 100km first stage.

    Jatin Jain the other Indian also completed the tough Day 1 after he struggled with his bike and finished Overall 55 and P32 in Rally2 class.

    After setting the fastest time in the morning Prologue, Tosha Schareina (Honda) claimed victory in the inaugural stage of the bp Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal, just ahead of compatriot Lorenzo Santolino (Sherco). António Maio (Yamaha) will head into the second day as the leading Portuguese contender.

    Tosha Schairena leads Day 1
    Tosha Schairena, a rider for Honda’s official team led by Ruben Faria, made a triumphant return to competition and kicked off the bp Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal in stellar fashion. The Valencia-based rider admitted, “The start was quite tough, with the sandy sections where I encountered quite a few difficulties. Then, the terrain hardened, and I pushed harder. Despite some minor errors, overall things went well, and the strategy of starting further back proved to be correct.”

    Also familiar with the course characteristics, compatriot Lorenzo Santolino (Sherco) was one of the standouts of the day, finishing the stage in second position, just ahead of American Honda rider Skyler Howes.

    António Maio (Yamaha) showcased an impressive performance, being the fourth fastest of the stage and the best among the Portuguese riders, with the GNR (National Republican Guard) soldier stating, “The course was a bit different from what I was expecting, but it was enjoyable. I didn’t make any navigation errors, and it was important to finish the first day with good sensations.”

    Chilean Pablo Quintanilla (Honda) secured the fifth position, ahead of Sebastien Bühler (Hero). The Portuguese-German, residing in the village of Relíquias, approximately 80 km from Grândola, expressed satisfaction at the end of the first 100 timed kilometers: “I enjoyed the course quite a lot, and the only issue I had was having to backtrack two or three times to ‘fetch’ the waypoints. But it was a good stage to start.”

    Despite being the fastest in the stage, benefiting from experience on similar terrains around his hometown (Durban, South Africa), a penalty pushed Bradley Cox to seventh place. Nevertheless, the KTM rider emphasized, “I really enjoyed riding here. It’s tough but fun, even when we encountered a lot of mud.”

    Portuguese rider Bruno Santos (Husqvarna) finished eighth overall and first in the Rally2 class, while Argentine Manuel Andújar set the fastest time among the Quads, with a 6m39s advantage over Lithuanian Antanas Kanopkinas.

    A single selective sector contested south of Grândola, spanning 193.04 kilometers, is the challenge that teams face in tomorrow’s stage (Wednesday), the second of the bp Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal. A course traversing the Alentejo cork oak forest, with some sandy sections.

  • Indians Harith Noah, Jatin Jain in fray; Hero Motosports’ Ross Branch leads RallyGP

    Indians Harith Noah, Jatin Jain in fray; Hero Motosports’ Ross Branch leads RallyGP

    Grandola (Portugal), 3 April 2024: Scrutineering for the inaugural edition of the BP Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal wound to a close in Grândola on Tuesday. The 55 vehicles in the W2RC field (out of 148 FIA/FIM vehicles in the race) were cleared to start the race on Wednesday morning.

    Among the 27 motorbikes and quads on the FIM start list, will be two Indians, Harith Noah of Sherco, the Rally2 class winner of 2024 Dakar and Jatin Jain, a Kove rider. Besides, the Indian manufacturer, Hero MotoSports, will have the leader of the Rally GP competition, Ross Branch, who will feel the heat from Adrien Van Beveren (Monster Energy Honda), his closest pursuer at only 26 points back.

    Jatin Jain

    The popular Indian with the Supercross fraternity is a two-time National 2-wheeler rally champion in 2018 and 2019, and multiple times Supercross champion in different categories. Before this, he completed the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, the second round of the W2RC on his Kove 450 Rally Pro. The Nagpur rider made his international debut in 2020 in the Hispania rally in Spain with a creditable fifth place in his class, and also took part in the Abu Dhabi Baja in 2023. But despite his best preparations, the privateer could not raise the sponsorship to take part in Dakar 2024.

    Among the 28 FIA crews in the W2RC, Carlos Sainz (Mini JCW) holds the championship lead by just 9 points over Nasser Al Attiyah (Nasser Racing by Prodrive) and 12 over Guerlain Chicherit (Overdrive Racing).

    Tomorrow, in a historic first for the W2RC, the prologue and stage 1 will be held on the same day, taking the competitors from Grândola to Santiago do Cacém and back. There will be live coverage of the finish.

    The list of 169 entrants in the BP Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal includes competitors from 30 different nationalities, a fact that reveals the global nature of the Automóvel Club de Portugal event.

    As you might expect, the debut of the World Rally-Raid Championship in Portugal has attracted competitors from all over the world, who will be concentrating next week on Grândola and the trails of the Alentejo, Ribatejo and Spanish Extremadura.

    The impressive list of 169 entries for the car, motorcycle and quad races has competitors from 30 different countries: in addition to Portugal, also South Africa, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Belgium, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Czechia, Chile, Ecuador, Slovakia, Spain, United States of America, France, Great Britain, Hungary, India, Israel, Italy, Lebanon, Lithuania, Norway, Netherlands, Poland, Qatar, Kyrgyzstan, Seychelles and Switzerland are represented.

    The pride of a nation

    In motorcycles, World Rally-Raid leader Ross Branch is one of Botswana’s rare representatives in motorsport at the highest level. Branch represents an Indian manufacturer, Hero, and bikers from that Asian giant are also starting to emerge, such as Harith Noah, an official Sherco rider, or Jatin Jain, who rides for a Chinese brand, Kove.

    The Sunshine After The Rain

    The route of the rally had to be tweaked due to the unseasonal rains that drenched its host regions last week, but its overall character remains very much the same. In the end, the FIM race will stretch for 1,735 km and its FIA counterpart for 1,866 km, with 1,039 km of specials for both. The start will be hectic!

    In a historic first for the W2RC, the prologue and stage 1 will be held on the same day. The first competitors will get the prologue going just 15 minutes after the sun peeks over the horizon. After that, they will set out to tame the 100 km special 1 before noon. The entire field will be brought together shortly before the finish line to provide live coverage of the last 3 km. The final sprint will be broadcast for the first time on Sport TV, the broadcaster of the premier sports events held in Portugal. Live footage with expert commentary will also be streamed on W2RC social media for the rest of the world. Tune in tomorrow at 3:25 pm (UTC+1) for the motorbike finish and 5 pm (UTC+1) for the car finish on YouTube W2RC or Facebook W2RC pages.