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Tag: Harith Noah
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Harith Noah crashes out in the dunes: Dakar 2023
Ha’il (Saudi Arabia) 3 Jan 2023: Sherco TVS Rally Factory team’s Harith Noah, the only rider from India at Dakar 2023 had an unfortunate fall in the dunes and crashed out of this year’s Dakar here on Wednesday. He is stable and currently taking treatment in a Riyadh hospital.
For the 29-year old from Kerala, the 4th stage of the 2023 Dakar around Ha’il (425 km of special) proved disastrous as this route further confirmed that the event is extremely difficult this year. He crashed while crossing a dune after about 100 kms. After yesterday’s stormy weather, calm returned to the bivouac, however the riders were once again physically challenged and for Noah it is his first Dakar DNF. After his debut in 2020, the TVS talent became the first rider from India to finish Dakar in the top-20 in 2021 and last year he suffered engine issues with two stages remaining and could finish the Dakar only in the experience class.
“Harith Noah fell in a dune. He had to be evacuated by helicopter, he suffered a fracture of the T5. He is currently being treated at Riyadh hospital and will either have surgery to repair the vertebra or the doctors will give him a back brace. We are waiting for the latest news,” a Sherco team statement said. Despite the fracture to the vertebra, he did not suffer any neurological damage, it was reported.
Santolino 10th
Santolino turned in another fine performance today, he rode a good part of the special on his own. He finished 10th in the day’s stage, 10mn 26s from the first-place finisher, he is in 11th position in the general classification, just 30mn 37s from the leader.
“It was a difficult day, with many km in the sand, small dunes, camel grass, and bumpy areas where we were able to ride at medium to high speed. Today I had fun in the sandy areas, trying to keep a high pace, I had a few scares, but in general I had good control of my machine. I raced all day on my own, I did catch Walker at the 280 km mark, and I stayed ahead of him until the finish”.
Goncalves 11th
Rui Gonçalves fought for 11th place until 5 km from the finish where he experienced a racing event, he maintained his 24th place in the provisional classification after the first 4 stages.
The whole team is united around its riders, the bivouac has been restored after yesterday’s bad weather. This Dakar is very hard on everyone and there have already been a lot of retirements after the 4th day of racing.
Ranking for the day:
Lorenzo Santolino: P10
Rui Goncalves: P34
Harit Noah: DNF
Cumulative ranking:
Lorenzo Santolino : P11, +30mn 37s
Rui Gonçalves : P24, +2 H 07mn
Harith Noah : DNF -
Harith Noah completes Stage 3 under rain in P33 : Dakar 2023
Ha’il (Saudi Arabia) 3 Jan 2023: Sherco TVS Factory Rally team’s Harith Noah, the only rider from India, finished a difficult Stage 3 successfully in the Dakar 2023 here on Tuesday.
Today’s stage from Alula to Ha’Il was marked by heavy rainfall. The riders got very cold. The 670 km route, including 447 km of special.
The 29-year TVS talent from Kerala started the day in a steady fashion and was in P41, about 40km into the Selective Section and by Way Point at 288km mark, he made up six places to take 35th position. He consistently improved positions in the next 200km and was running in 32nd position before finishing the stage at P33. Thus, he retained his Overall ranking of P32. However, Noah struggled today in the rain and mud and he was tested by the very technical course and the weather conditions as he had to do a the over 150km transport section under thunder showers. He looks forward to being able to fully express himself on the desert tracks.
Harith Noah: “It was a 447-km special and I felt alright. I expected difficult navigation but finally it was pretty straight forward. Rain towards the end of the stage with a lot of water covering the tracks. The liaison after the stage was 160 km in thunder storm. Looking forward to the 425-km stage tomorrow,” said the TVS talent on social media.
The degradation in weather conditions has made it no longer possible for the organisers to guarantee the best safety conditions for the competitors, so the riders have been halted at CP 2 (after 335 km) and CP3 (after 377 km). It appeared like Harith Noah already passed the 335 mark at that time. And thus the times were maintained for the riders who have reached the finishing line. For the others, calculations will be made for each of the riders in accordance with the average accomplished on the first part of the stage in order to attribute a finishing time to them.
Harith Noah is the fastest rider from India at Dakar, having finished 20th in the 2021 edition at Saudi Arabia. He took part in all the editions in Saudi Arabia after making his Dakar debut here in 2020. He is sponsored by TVS, Sherco, Scott Sports India and Camelbak. Noah is a five-time Indian National champion in Supercross participating TVS Racing team colours.
Today, the Dakar navigated through lands steeped in history, setting off from one of the centres of Nabatean civilisation on the way to Ha’il, which was a crossroads of commercial routes linking Europe to Asia. For the Dakar riders, drivers and crews, who had to tackle sometimes torrential weather conditions through the majestic canyons surrounding the sandy and sometimes rocky tracks, the challenge also involved having the capacity to focus on navigation where many criss-crossing tracks made it easy to get confused. Daniel Sanders proved to be a master at this game, displaying perfect regularity to win a fourth stage on the Dakar, just like Guerlain Chicherit, who began his roll of honour in 2006! Heavy rain shortened the stage to 377 kilometres for many of the riders, drivers and crews.
OUTLINE
It may be obvious, but fighting to win the title on the Dakar first and foremost requires thoughtfulness. It is not sure that Ricky Brabec forgot this major rule, but the American had an encounter with misfortune and joined the list of major favourites who have exited the race prematurely. The Honda rider fell after 274 km. With painful cervical vertebrae, he was transported to hospital, both conscious and able to move, in Ha’iI for further medical examinations. Following Sam Sunderland, within the space of three days, the rally has lost two of its former winners. Nevertheless, the pretenders for the crown continue to take their place, starting with Daniel Sanders, who posted the best intermediate times throughout the special before winning for the fourth time in his career on a stage of the Dakar, also taking the lead in the rally. The Australian’s lead in the general rankings was limited by the efforts of young Mason Klein, who benefited from the new rules awarding bonusses to the openers, to limit the damage and allow them to have a chance at outright victory (see stat of the day). Whilst the leaders in the bike race were relatively spared by the rain and hail which swept through the region, the weather conditions forced the organisers to shorten the special in order to preserve the emergency intervention capacities -
Harith Noah survives a fall to finish 34th in Stage 2: Dakar 2023
Al-Ula (Saudi Arabia), 2 Jan 2023: Sherco TVS Factory rider, Harith Noah, the only Indian at Dakar 2023, overcame a crash at the 40-km mark, and made a splendid recovery to finish the gruelling Stage 2 in 34th position for an Overall ranking of 32 in the Rally GP bikes category of the Dakar here on Monday.
“It was a tough day today. The digital Roadbook did not work from Km-5 and I had to manually scroll it. Today’s stages were all rocks, rocks, rocks and more rocks. It was not easy for me. I had two crashes and hurt my elbow pretty badly but fortunately nothing is broken,” said Harith Noah.
“I spent the afternoon taking care of myself so I could recover and be ready for another long day tomorrow with 447 km (of competitive distance),” the Red Bull India rider added.
The stage was won by Mason Klein of USA, the training partner of Noah followed by Sebastian Buhler of Hero MotoSports Team Rally. Hero, the Indian manufacturer had a good day with two of their riders in the top-5 as Ross Branch finished Stage 2 in fourth place.
Harith Noah during the Stage 2 of the Dakar 2023 between Sea Camp and Al-‘Ula, Photo ASO/DPPI After leaving the Sea Camp where the Dakar had been based for a long weekend, the riders, drivers and crews headed into the inner reaches of Saudi Arabia. Harith Noah, confronted with the morning coolness and took on the terrain when it was still damp. Though the Kerala rider likes the hard terrain, he had a crash at the 40-km mark. Today’s race in the mountains, required the competitors to tackle narrow tracks and climb up to an altitude of 1,300 metres through a pass at the midway point of the stage. After the fall, Noah struggled with the terrain which was typical enduro. He slipped to 47th position at that point but later made up places at every Way Point and finished the 588-km stage in 34th place. Following his P24 in Stage 1, he now has an Overall ranking of 32. “The restorative night will be very important for him knowing that tomorrow will also be a big day,” said a Sherco team member.
The program for today went from Sea Camp to Al-Ula, it included 430 km of special. Like yesterday, the terrain was technical and tricky, with rocky sections, canyon crossings and a section in the dunes. Yesterday, in the reverse order, Noah started in the front, being the third to open the route.
Harith Noah, (behind), the Sherco TVS Factory rider, who has consistently passed many bikes after his fall, in action near Al Ula on Monday. Photo ASO/DPPI Noah’s Sherco teammate Lorenzo P7
Lorenzo Santolino had a good stage, making no mistakes, he finished 7th, 3.10 minutes from the leader. The bike performed well in some difficult terrain that tested riders and machines, it included technical sections and complicated navigation. Lorenzo rode a very smart race.
“It was a very long stage with a lot of slow rocky sections and some very rough tracks where it was difficult to maintain a high pace, but I felt comfortable. In these conditions my Sherco and I complement each other very well; this allows me to race without taking too many risks because tomorrow the course is 668 km long”.
Rui Gonçalves 35th
Rui Gonçalves started 35th this morning, he rode a good part of the special in the dust but he still managed to finish 22nd just 16 minutes behind the leader, this is a very good result and is very encouraging for the future.
“Today was a bit long and very technical, a lot of canyons and a lot of rocks and I knew that starting back in the field would to be difficult because I was going to be riding in the dust. I tried to keep a constant pace and not to make any mistakes. I was able to gain a few positions which will allow me to start a little further ahead tomorrow. I will try to move up in a few places every day. I thank everyone for the support I am receiving from the team at the start of the race”.
Tomorrow, the riders will set off for a 668-kilometer stage including 447 kilometers of special which will take them from Alula to Ha’Il.
Ranking for the day:
Lorenzo Santolino: P7 (3.10 mins)
Rui Goncalves: P22
Harit Noah: P34.Cumulative ranking:
Lorenzo Santolino: P13 (10.18 mins)
Rui Goncalves: P25
Harith Noah: P32.Feature photo caption: Harith Noah in action during Stage 2 on Monday, Jan 2 at Dakar 2023. Photo: Florent Gooden, ASO/DPPI
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Brilliant 24th by Harith Noah in Stage 1: Dakar 2023
Yanbu (Saudi Arabia), 1 Jan 2023: TVS Racing team’s Harith Noah, the only Indian at Dakar 2023, began the gruelling Dakar with a brilliant 24th position in the first stage here on Sunday. The Sherco TVS Factory team rider clocked 4 hours, 39 min and 08 seconds astride a Sherco 450 in the Rally GP class. He was 24min, 58 sec behind the Stage winner Ricky Brabec of USA after his training partner Mason Klein (USA), who was leading much of the time, was penalised.
The 29-year TVS talent finished in 24th position. A good result for the only rider from India, a five-time National champion. Starting 3rd this morning, with no tracks to guide him, he had excellent navigation and was able to make wise choices while remaining consistent throughout the stage.
The first real day of racing for this 2023 Dakar occurred on the day after the prologue. A 603 km stage around Sea Camp included 368 km of special that alternated between rocky technical sections, sandy tracks, and dunes. This was the first of the 14 stages of the event that is being held for the fourth consecutive year in Saudi Arabia. Many riders received penalties for speeding in the open connecting sections.
The contrast between the prologue on the beach and the first stage could not be starker. Today’s special followed the outline of the coast from 30 km inland on its way to Yanbu and beyond. The entire field was on high alert in the first part of the 368 km course, featuring the scattered rocky sections where defending champion Sam Sunderland crashed out of the race. From there on, the faster stretches between valleys and sandy tracks enabled Carlos Sainz and Daniel Sanders to let their raw speed do the talking. As a reward for their efforts, the drivers, riders and crews are taking the coastal route back to the Sea Camp for more than 200 km.
Testing competitors right from the off, the 368-kilometer timed special comprised a challenging mix of terrain, made up predominantly of gravels tracks, but with some sand and dunes thrown in to give riders a true taste of conditions at this 2023 event.
The Redbull rider, Noah, is sponsored by TVS, Sherco, Scott India and Camelbak India.
After the first stage Harith Noah said: “I started 3rd, it was the first time I started so upfront with just two lines in front. I am happy to have finished and not get lost a lot. Respect to all the riders opening the stages. Not easy.
“I am going to change the suspension setup a little for tomorrow on the bike. Will be a long day with 430km SS,” he added.
Yesterday, the 29-year from Shoranur said: “The Dakar 2023 officially started, I was full of focus and will do my best for another season. It was a 13-Km prologue day to define the starting order of phase 1. In P47, felt good to get the first race nerves out the way. Took it easy and safe. The first Stage will have a special stage of 367 km. It will be interesting as I will be starting at the very front, hope I don’t get too lost.”
The 2023 Dakar Rally continues tomorrow with the 589-kilometer stage two. Riders will face another long timed special, with 430 kilometres raced against the clock.
Lorenzo Santolino finished in 11th place. Confident from the start this morning, he was able to make the most of his Sherco 450 and rode a good part of the day with the leaders.
“A very nice and fast mixed stage starting at the seaside, then it moved on to a sandier area of open desert and canyons with rocky and technical tracks, the last part of the special consisted of dunes.
“I felt very good, I managed to pass several riders, I tried to not waste too much time overtaking them in the dust and concentrated on keeping a good rhythm. I’m happy to have reached the finish line, I was confident in my navigation, however I’m still a bit lacking in riding rhythm in the dunes”.
Rui Goncalvez was less fortunate than his two partners. A clutch problem penalized him on the many technical parts of the stage, he gave everything he had in the special to limit the loss of time, compensating for the mechanics with pure physical effort, he arrived at the finish very tired. He had to draw on his reserves. The instruction for tomorrow will be to ride clean and save his energy, the race is still very long. He is 41st.
Sherco Factory team Classification day 1 :
Lorenzo Santolino: P11Harrith Noah: P24
Rui Gonçalvez: P41
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With caution as strategy, Harith Noah finishes 47th in Prologue: Dakar 2023
Yanbu (Saudi Arabia), 31 Dec 2022: TVS Factory Racing star Harith Noah, the only rider from India at Dakar 2023, made a cautious beginning finishing the opening Prologue at 47th place in the overall classification and 26th in the Rally GP class, here on Saturday.
Watch the Sherco video of Noah’s Prologue here.
Caution was the strategy for this first timed-test and the Sherco TVS Factory rider clocked 9 minutes and 8 seconds to finish 47 among 138 riders. After three days of set-up and checks, the race is on for the Sherco Factory Rally Team. The riders left and rode the very slippery 13-km prologue using extreme caution. The route went around the base Sea Camp, on the shores of the Red Sea.
Harith Noah is taking part in the Bikes top class, the Rally GP and he has also entered for the Raid Raid World Championship, for which Dakar is the first leg.
Noah from Shoranur in Kerala, is taking part in his fourth Dakar, all in Saudi Arabia. He is a five-time Indian National Supercross champion. He trained hard in USA for about two months to develop his Road Book skills. The road book this year will be paperless and will only be on the digital monitors provided on the bike. As preparation he also took part in the Andalusia Rally and Rally of Morocco.
All of the riders followed the instructions of the team manager David Castero, who asked them to remain in the background and play it safe to ensure that everyone finished this short stage. A strategy of caution that proved to be judicious as a rider who started in front of them had a bad fall and finished his Dakar a few meters after the start.
“Another objective was to also start behind the race leaders tomorrow and follow in their tracks. The riders followed the instructions well, the bikes are working great, and the atmosphere is excellent within the team, which bodes well for the future,” said a Sherco team member.
Noah’s Sherco teammates Lorenzo Santolino finished P24 while Rui Gonçalvez came in next at P25.
Lorenzo Santolino said: “The special was very fast and slippery. I made a small error, but the sensations were very good! We are waiting for tomorrow’s starting order, the day which will be the real start of the race, the start of the premier race of the year!”
Tomorrow, the riders are getting down to business with a 603 km stage, including 368 km of special. The stage forms a loop, the start and finish will be at Sea camp.
About Harith Noah
It took him two editions to learn and adapt but 6 years after CS Santosh, Harith Noah became the third Indian rider to reach the finish of the world’s toughest rally. Not only did he achieve his dream he also managed the best ever performance for an Indian claiming an excellent 20th overall position in 2021.
In the footsteps of pioneers Santosh CS and Aravind Prabhakar, the young man from Kerala, but born in Germany had a rather long journey before taking on rallies. It started on his sixteenth birthday when he was given a motorbike. A weekend later, he was racing and although he finished last of that first race, his passion grew. His first encounter with the Dakar came thanks to the video tapes his dad would bring back from his business trips all over the world. He was 5 years old then and far from imagining that he would be on the start line of the 2020 Dakar.
Part of the Sherco TVS factory team, Noah’s first encounter with the race was a hard one. He was indeed forced to retire from the rally as soon as day 3 due to technical issues. But thanks to the new “Dakar Experience” that allows competitors to carry on while no longer being in the general classification, he was able to learn and gain experience. For his fourth attempt, after again failing to finish last year, the 29-year old who took part in the Morocco and Andalucia rallies this year, will again be alongside his team mates Lorenzo Santolino and Rui Gonçalves with the goal to once again do better than his starting number 20.
“I got my first bike in 2009 and on the next weekend I was racing in the paddy fields by my house in Kerala. I fell in love with it immediately. Two years later I became national supercross champion in the privateer class. My focus was really on supercross, not the Dakar and then TVS got involved. About the last Dakar, my 3rd attempt, the two weeks got over pretty quick. To be honest I was not satisfied, but I believe this will give me an extra drive to keep pushing forward. It’s another mindset riding a stage at the Dakar with nothing to lose,” said Noah on the official Dakar site. -
Stunning 3rd for Harith Noah in SS2 at FIM Baja Aragon
Teruel (Spain), 24 July 2022: Sherco TVS Factory Racing rider Harith Noah recorded a stunning top-3 in one of the stages in a field of 163 riders and successfully completed the cross-country rally in Overall fifth place, in Baja Spain Aragon, the fourth round of the FIM Bajas World Cup that concluded here on Sunday. In the FIM 450cc class for bikes, Noah was placed fourth.
Achieving a career-best third in SS2 in the FIM Bajas World Cup round, the rider from Kerala, put in excellent performance and missed the podium by a few minutes as he finished 5th overall. Astride a Sherco 450, the 29-year TVS Racing talent is taking part in the prestigious annual event that is now a round of both the FIA and FIM Bajas World Cup. Beginning the 6-km prologue cautiously trailing in 16th, Harith Noah switched up pace and moved up 13 places with a stunning ride in SS2 that launched him to P3. However, tough and dangerous terrain curtailed his further dash to the front as he had to be content with an 8th place in SS1 (02:45:56.0). “The track was a bit dangerous as the cars had passed already and that made many rocks pop out on to the track. Focus was to complete the stage safely,” said Noah, who attacked once again on the last Sector for which he preserved his best. Clocking 2:07:26.0 on the last day, he sealed the fourth place in the stage for an overall fifth.
He finished the last day’s ‘competitive special’ of 159 km between Banon and Teruel and moved up to a brilliantly in the Overall classification in Group 1 (Category 1) of the FIM Bajas World Cup for 450cc bikes. He clocked a total time of 8hours, 07minutes and 33.0seconds. With his Sherco teammates Lorenzao Santolino and Rui Goncalves finishing second and third, Noah made it three bikes in top-5 for the Sherco-TVS combo that missed the top-spot by just about 5 minutes.
Performing consistently on all three days, Harith Noah dished out high-standard riding to shoot into top-3 on Saturday, the Day 2. “For the first time I am back on the rally bike after the last Dakar. I felt so good to be back riding at an international event. The hard-pack tracks made it fun to slide around and I enjoyed it. It was a great experience and like always, I have learned a lot and hope to fine tune my skills from this rich experience,” said the Shoranur star. “It was a great feeling to be able to finish one of the stages with the front pack and the bike proved to be good,” the 29-year star told INDIAinF1 from Spain.
The gruelling race that traversed over 400 km in the Selective Sector on Saturday morning with another 200 plus km in the evening presented a technically tough route but Harith Noah who thrives on routes that offer difficult navigational challenges, took to his liking and posted a stunning 5:50:09.0.
The Kerala rider is the fastest Indian at the Dakar as he beat CS Santolsh’s record and joined KP Aravind, in the elite club of three from India, that finished Dakar successfully. Harith Noah will be back to his training for the 2023 Dakar next January.
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Sherco’s Goncalves takes lead; Harith, Aishwarya begin 6-km Prologue
Teruel, 22 July 2022: Rui Gonçalves has started his participation in the Baja España Aragón AVATEL Trophy with victory in the prologue stage that has been played in the surroundings of Teruel. The pilot de Sherco was the fastest in the six timed kilometers of the special.
The Portuguese rider has thrown in 3’6” Tosha Schareina (KTM) while Lorenzo Santolino has occupied the third position at 5’2”.
“This Baja is very intense, it It goes very fast and physically it is very hard. Starting position for tomorrow is good and I hope I don’t have dust on a day when many things can happen,” he said. Santolino.
In the Quads category, Jerome Connart has set the best time with 19” of advantage over Dani Vila and Kevin Giroud, second and third respectively in this prologue stage. Today, Friday, has also been the opportunity to see the premiere of the category Trail, with Iván Cervantes leading in the Trail 600cc while Joan Pedrero has led in the Maxi Trail.
This Saturday the rest of the categories will start at 7:46 a.m. on a day that It will have two specials and 400 timed kilometers. Nasser Al-Attiyah, four-time winner will be one of the favorites in the car category along with Yazeed Al-Rajhi and Dutchman Erik Van Loon. “I am very happy to be here again and I have come to enjoy the race again. It’s a really tough ride but I’m going to fight for victory”, stated the Qatari at the official press conference held this afternoon at the Exhibition and Congress Pavilion of Teruel.
Early report
The 38th edition of the Baja España Aragón got underway today afternoon from 17.34 hours (9.04pm IST) with the 6-km prologue stage for only bikes where Sherco TVS factory Racing team riders from India, Aishwarya Pissay and Harith Noah took the start on Friday.
After the teams have completed the second and final day of technical and
administrative checks, the bike category kicks off the race with a 6-kilometre prologue stage on a route close to Teruel and the Service Park.From Saturday early morning, the rest of the field will join the action with a day of 402 kilometres against the clock divided into two special stages. It will be the longest day of the rally.
On Sunday, the crews will tackle a 159-kilometre special stage, the last one of the 38th edition.
The Baja España Aragón Trofeo AVATEL will run through 38 municipalities in the regions of Teruel, Jiloca and Albarracín. We would like to advise all spectators stay in high and safe places while following the race and respect the indications of the marshals along the track.
Sherco TVS Racing bikes #11 of Harith Noah, #1 of Lorenzo Santolino and Rui Goncalves get ready for the Prologue on Friday evening. Earlier on 18 July, Monday the 38th Edition was presented:
The 38th edition of the Baja España Aragón Trofeo AVATEL, which will take place from 22nd to 24th July, has been presented to the public. The official presentation of the event took place in the Salón de la Muralla of the Government of Aragon’s headquarters in Teruel, in the presence of Arturo Aliaga, Vice President of the Government of Aragon and Regional Minister for Industry, Competitiveness and Business Development of the Government of Aragon. “This event has been organised keeping in mind that we all have to work to project the image of being capable of organising one of the best of the eight World Cup events. We hope the Baja will live up to its reputation.”
The presentation was also attended by Manuel Rando, President of the Provincial Council of Teruel, Manuel Aviñó, President of the Spanish Automobile Federation, Javier Domingo, Councillor for Tourism, Education and Festivities of the City Council of Teruel, Xavier Bartrolí, President of Octagon Esedos and Roche Murciano, President of the Provincial Association of Teruel Tourist Entrepreneurs.
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Aishwarya Pissay, Harith Noah set for FIM Baja Aragon
Teruel, 21 July 2022: Fastest rider at Dakar from India, Harith Noah and the only World Cup winner from Indian motorsports, Aishwarya Pissay, relaunch their international campaign after an year and are all set for the FIM Baja Spain Aragón, the fourth round of the FIM Bajas World Cup beginning here on Friday.
The 38th edition of Baja España Aragón Trofeo AVATEL will see two of the top Indian Cross-Country enduro riders in Harith Noah and Aishwarya Pissay. While Kerala’s Harith Noah is the fastest from India at the Dakar, Aishwarya Pissay is the only Indian to win a World Cup in motorsports, men or women. Noah became the third Indian to finish Dakar after CS Santosh and KP Arvind, both from Bengaluru.
Read the preview and archives of Aishwarya Pissay here.
Dakar star Harith Noah exploits can be found here.
Petronas TVS Racing’s Harith Noah will begin his 11th year with the factory team. He successfully completed his third Dakar becoming the only rider from India to fly the Tricolour at the the 44th Dakar Rally, the prestigious annual cross-country endurance rally-raid race which concluded in Jeddah on January 14 earlier this year. He also set the fastest stage time by a rider from India, 18th in Stage 11, beating his own record set in 2021 (20). He is the third rider from India to complete Dakar after CS Santosh and KP Aravind, both from Bengaluru.
On Friday, more than 70 motorcycle and quad riders will take the start of the race, including 18 motorcycles and eight quads competing for points in the FIM Bajas World Cup.
Team Sherco is registered with four riders who are aiming for the podium: Lorenzo Santolino 3rd las year, Rui Gonçalves, Harith Noah and Pissay Aishwarya, the only woman in the FIM field, make up the team.
David Casteu, sporting director of Team Sherco, also has a “Team Casteu” team manager’s cap on and is supporting four private riders with crucial assistance.
There are three riders aiming to take the top step of the podium in the Junior category: the young Pole Konrad Dabrowski, Neels Theric – whose father won one of the first editions of the Baja Spain Aragón – and Kevin Giroud, who rides a quad. Dabrowski (KTM Duust Rally) is currently leading the Junior category and holds second overall in the FIM Bajas World Cup with 50 points behind Emirati Mohammed Al-Balooshi.
In the Veteran category, seven riders will take the start: Klyver, Gaits, Howe, Grignac, Argoud, Lardon and Vingut.
Eight competitors will line up in the quad section and they include Alexandre Giroud, winner of the 2022 Dakar, the Spaniard Toni Vingut and the Saudi rider Abdulmajeed Al-Khulaifi.
Administrative and technical checks will take place in Teruel on Friday, July 22nd from 08.00hrs to 13.30hrs and the six-kilometre Prologue will be played out from 17.00hrs in order to determine the starting order for the first selective section the next day
On Saturday, July 23rd, riders will tackle two selective sections and a third on Sunday morning for a total of 435 competitive kilometres and 342km of liaison.
The 38th edition of the Baja España Aragón-Trofeo AVATEL will once again be a record-breaking event in its ninth consecutive year in Teruel. 165 crews will line up for the start in the car category of the rally that counts towards the FIA World Cup for Cross Country Bajas. Dakar winner Nasser Al-Attiyah, reigning champion of the Baja Aragón, will be one of the main favourites.
The Qatari will be joined by Yazeed Al-Rajhi in a Toyota Hilux, who is second overall in the World Cup behind Czech Miroslav Zapletal. A good result for the Saudi in Teruel would allow him to take the lead in the championship.
Other big names to start in this Baja España Aragón Trofeo AVATEL include
Dutchman Erik Van Loon and Argentinean Fernando Álvarez. Host country Spain will be represented by a huge contingent, spearheaded by Jesús Calleja, Félix Macías, José Antonio Ramos and Daniel Alonso. The latter two are the first two classified in the Spanish Cross-Country Rally Championship.
The 38th edition of the Baja España Aragón Trofeo AVATEL will see the first
participation of a WRC driver. Dani Sordo joins the populous field to take on yet another challenge in his sporting career. The Spaniard, who has announced hisretirement from the World Rally Championship at the end of the year, has decided totry his hand at cross-country rallies, with his current WRC co-driver, the Galician Cándido Carrera, on his side.Note: Courtesy FIM communications and Baja Aragon official site.
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Braving broken ribs, engine failure, Harith Noah completes 3rd Dakar
Jeddah (Saudi Arabia), 14 Jan. 2022: TVS Racing Factory riderHarith Noah successfully completed his third Dakar becoming the only rider from India to fly the Tricolour at the the 44th Dakar Rally, the prestigious annual cross-country endurance rally-raid race, which concluded here on Friday after two weeks of top-notch adventure.
Click to read Sherco TVS and Hero MotoSports final reports.
In the process, the Kerala rider set the best Dakar stage-time ever by a rider from India at the prestigious annual cross-country endurance rally by finishing Stage 11 in P18, beating his own record of P19 set last year.
Great Britain’s Sam Sunderland won the Moto section. While Noah is the only rider from India, the other Indian team Hero MotoSports, too did well, with lead rider Joaquim Rodriques of Portugal finishing a creditable 14th and Aaron Mare taking 16th Overall rank. Noah’s teammates from Sherco TVS Factory Rally team, Spaniard Lorenzo Santolino was the best finisher on Indian metal at 11th and Rui Goncalves, also from Portugal, was ranked 24th overall.
With a steady and consistent performance through out the 12 stages astride a Sherco 450 SEF Rally bike, the 5-time Indian National champion bagged a career-best 18th rank at a Dakar stage, yesterday. Noah finished the last day’s Stage 12 at 23rd place in the gruelling race that traversed through 7790 km of desert sands and dunes mixed with dangerous, tricky unforgiving terrain of rocks, speedy soft sands and tarmac in the transport section. Noah rode well conquering difficult navigation with ease on both the long days, and clocked a total time of 50 hours, 52 minutes and 50 seconds and along with a penalty of 22hours and 30 minutes logged a total Overall time of 72:52:50 for the 12 stages including two stages under the Dakar Experience Class. Due to the technical snag with a new engine on Stage 10, officially Noah is not classified in the general rankings.
Considered as the toughest rally in the world, the Dakar acquired the status of an FIA and FIM World Champioship round, this year. Over 140 riders from about 30 countries finished the rally and Harith Naoh, the star TVS rider, who became the fastest rider from India at Dakar in 2021, bagged the experience of one more Dakar in his chequered career despite many challenges and obstacles he faced in the desert sands of Saudi Arabia for two weeks including three crashes, two broken ribs and an engine mishap.
The TVS Racing prodigy, into his 10th year with the premier two-wheeler manufacturing company, had a fall in the very first stage but moved on discarding another serious shoulder injury in Stage 7, but ended up riding in pain for two days without knowing that he fractured two of his ribs on January 9 in rocky terrain after he was hit by a stone while overtaking another rider.
Undaunted, the 28-year from Kerala, braved the odds and was forced to change his engine for safety reasons before the start of Stage 10 but unfortunately suffered technical issues and shifted to Dakar Experience class for the last two days.
Harith Noah, spoke about his experience and said: “It is always a great feeling to complete Dakar and I am very happy with the experience. The nature of endurance cross-country rally like Dakar is gruelling and strenuous but one has to brave dangerous conditons for both the man and the machine. That is why this race is special. Despite not being officially classified, and not finishing for the second time, I take the good things home and the thrill of finishing spurs me on to more adventures on my bike. I thank my team TVS Racing and all my technical team, support staff and sponsors for giving me a chance to race once again in Dakar. With all this experience, I hope to come back stronger in 2023.“
As part of Sherco TVS Factory team, Noah took part as privateer sponsored by TVS Motor Company in Dakar RallyGP, the premier class of the Moto section, before shifting to the Experience class after Stage 10. TVS Motor Company in partnership with Sherco Factory has been fielding the Sherco TVS Rally Factory team for six years, before Covid. And three of the four riders, who took part in Dakar from India were groomed by TVS Racing team in the domestic Nationals. Following in the footsteps of KP Aravind, Noah not only became the third Indian to successfully complete the gruelling Dakar but he is also the fastest at Dakar, finishing in the top-20 last year, at the toughest and mother of all rallies in the world. Last year, another Indian, Ashishrao Rane, took part in Dakar Moto as a privateer.
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Harith Noah suffers engine failure, moves into Dakar Experience class
Bisha (Saudi Arabia), 13 Jan 2022: TVS Racing Factory rider Harith Noah, who bravely pulled on for 11 days despite crashes and fractured ribs, suffered technical issues with the bike on Wednesday to be classified as 115th in the General Ranking of the Moto section of the 44th Dakar Rally here.
Noah, who was placed 124 after Stage 10, is expected to begin the penultimate stage in the ‘Dakar Experience’ class on Thursday, which provides a second chance for the riders to continue the gruelling 7000 km cross-country rally-raid and experience the finish. But he will not be classified any more in the elite RallyGP class.
Astride a Sherco 450 SEF Rally, the Kerala rider started his 12th day with a new engine at 10.38 am (IST) but was forced to stop within after 43 kilometres due to mechanical problems with the bike as his engine failed. He could not even reach the first WayPoint and later, he had to endure the heart-break of watching his bike craned away by a helicopter.
He clocked a total of 66 hours, 22 minutes and 42 seconds in the Overall timesheets after logging a penalty time of 21 hours and 45 minutes for a General Ranking of 115. After Stage 10, he was given a time of 33H 33min including a penalty of 21H 30min for a Stage ranking of 124.
The 28-year old TVS star became the fastest rider from India at Dakar last year after finishing in the 20th position. He made his debut in 2020 and finished in the Dakar Experience class. Bangalore’s CS Santosh became the first Indian at Dakar in 2015 and went on to ride many times at the pinnacle of the rallying world till his unfortunate accident last year. KP Arvind of TVS Racing and privateer Ashishrao Rane also took part in the Dakar. Santosh is yet to recover completely but is in Saudi Arabia to cheer the Hero team.
“It is a big disappointment. We changed the engine yesterday and I was hoping to make up the places we lost due to the penalty and push ahead the last two days. The terrain and the conditions are always challenging both for the man and machine and it is time to move on and finish the Dakar. I will take this experience to come back stronger,” promised Noah, who is in his third Dakar.
Despite the setback with Noah, the other two Sherco TVS Factory Rally team riders finished the day in top-10. Lorenzo Santolino of Spain continued to put in brilliant performance and finished the stage in P5 while the other Sherco TVS rider Rui Goncalves from Portugal, also did well, closing the day at P9. In the overall general ranking, Santolino is 11th while Goncalves is placed 24th.
The other Indian team of Hero MotoSports, too, continued to post good times to stay in the top-20. Lead Portuguese rider Joaquim Rodrigues finished a tough day in 24th place after a 15-min penalty while the second Hero rider Aaron Mare of South Africa finished Stage 10 in 14th place. In the Overall general rankings, JRod is in 15th position followed by Mare in 16th.
The 7000-plus km Dakar rally, being held for the third year in Saudi Arabian desert sands will conclude on January 14.
