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Tag: Sherco TVS Factory team
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Despite a fall on Day 4 and an injured wrist, Harith Noah completes BP Rally
Portugal, 7 April 2024: From April 2 to 7, 2024, the riders of Sherco TVS Factory Rally Team completed in their first post-Dakar race, the BP Ultimate Rally Raid in Portugal.
Lorenzo Santolino started the event well and placed 2nd in the first stage. The following days, he once again demonstrated his ability to fight with the fastest riders in the World Rally Raid Championship, but was stopped in his progress by a big fall at 130 km/h on the last day. , because of a root hidden under the sand. He comes out of it with just some aches and pain, no broken bones.
Our rider from India, Harith Noah, the winner of the Dakar Rally 2 category, was penalized because of some racing incidents, small riding and navigation errors, but he is satisfied with his performance.
Harith Noah :
“This rally was a good experience to return to competition after the Dakar. The conditions were difficult and different, there was a lot of humidity, and it was cold. A racing incident during the second stage penalized me and caused me to lose time. I left motivated on the 3rd day and I gave everything, but a fall on the 4th day caused me to have pain in my wrist and on the last day, I just rode to finish the race, without taking any risks since I was now too far behind in the provisional ranking. I learned a lot from this event and gained new experiences. We learn from each experience. The bike performed very well. Now I will focus on training and be ready for the next race.”
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Historic victory for Harith Noah in Rally2 class at Dakar 2024
Yanbu (Saudi Arabia), 19 January 2024: Sherco TVS Rally Factory team rider Harith Noah clinched a historic victory at Dakar Rally 2024 by winning the Rally 2 category in the Motorcycle section at the coveted cross-country rally which concluded here on Friday.
“It’s amazing. It’s amazing stuff. Crazy. It’s crazy to do what I have done. I am so happy,” is the immediate exclusive reaction of Harith Noah from Saudi Arabia after he realised his Rally2 victory.
He clocked an overall 54hours, 24minutes and 44seconds for the 12 gruelling stages in 14 days and finished an overall 11th place in the general ranking and also won his class, the Rally2 class which saw 110 riders take the start.
The 30-year old from Kerala, Harith Noah, concluded his good run at the mighty Dakar 2024 with a cautious 5th place in the 328-km 12th stage in the Rally2 class today and managed to retain his 11th position in the overall general rankings in the main class. His victory in the Rally 2 class is the first by an Indian rider. With the dominating performance in one of the most-demanding and toughest cross-country rallies in the world, the Sports Science graduate from Shoranur in Kerala, entrenched himself in the annals of Indian motorsports with a milestone achievement.
Astride a 450SEF Rally bike tuned by Sherco TVS rally factory team, Noah began the prologue on January 5 in a cautious way finishing 29th but increased the tempo to finish P22 in the very first Stage, the next day. He managed to improve his riding with stunning results after each stage and each day, thereafter. Staying put in the top-20, he delivered a killer punch in the toughest Stage 6, that had two days of ‘48-hour Chrono’ marathon rallying. Noah, made the best use of the difficult conditions to shoot to P13 overall.
On Jan 15, with four days to go he touched his peak dishing out his career-best with an Overall P5 and a stage win in his class, the Rally2 category. Later, he won the stage again in the penultimate round and clinched the issue on the final day with a Rally2 victory. He also got a note-worthy 11th place in the main Motorcycle category that saw 142 riders from all over the world take the start.
Noah is sponsored by Sherco TVS Factory Rally Team, TVS Racing, Red Bull and Casio. In 2021, he became the fastest from India at Dakar finishing in 20th place and became the third Indian to finish the prestigious Dakar rally.
“I’m happy that I’ve finished. That was the main goal. I’m really blessed to be here. I learned a lot this year, especially during the second week. I felt really strong and it’s something to build on for next year. I tried to not have any expectations. I just tried to ride every kilometre, one at a time. It’s a really nice feeling to get fifth overall in Stage 10 and to know that you have it in you. It feels good to win. I hope it motivates other riders, younger riders, to do the same or try to pursue their dreams and grow the sport. I never thought when I was a child that I would be here on the Dakar. Then I did my first Dakar, then I finished in 2021, which was amazing, and now here I am winning my Rally 2 class. I’m happy,” said a jubilant Noah, before the result got confirmed. A racer of different breed, Harith Noah does not look at the results after every stage, lest they disturb his rhythm.
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Harith Noah leads Rally2 general ranking; logs overall P11: Dakar Stage 11
Yanbu (Saudi Arabia), 18 January 2024: The 30-year old from Kerala, Harith Noah continued his good run at the mighty Dakar 2024 and managed to escalate his position to the top of the table in the overall general rankings of the Rally2 class with a splendid Stage 11 parformance in one of the most-demanding stages near to the end of this edition of the Dakar on Thursday. The riders took over part of the 2023 route with the same very rocky course that was very complicated and prone to causing punctures.
The top rider from India was cautious. After the stage, Harith Noah said: “I knew it would be a tough day with very rocky and difficult trails. I felt pretty good at first but once we started entering the rocks, I had two small falls. I tried to concentrate on navigation and stayed on two wheels for the rest of the stage. The race is not finished yet, there is still one more stage left tomorrow.”
Today’s course represented the most demanding sporting challenge of the second week of the race and was likely to disrupt the rankings in all categories. Spanning more than 400 kilometers, the special took place mainly on hostile and challenging terrain. This is the last physical challenge to overcome.
Harith Noah continued his momentum with another victory in Rally 2 and a eleventh place overall. He thus gained time over his closest competitor R. Dumontier, he now leads the Rally 2 standings.
At kilometer 12, his teammate Rui Goncalves fell, resulting in a deep injury to his left arm. After seeking medical assistance from the organization, he was quickly transferred to Alula Hospital. An intervention surgery was essential to treat his wound, and he remains under observation tonight. No Noah is the only Sherco rider left in the field.
Harith Noah is the last rider still in the race for the Indo/French outfit. He is currently in 11th position in the general classification. Tomorrow marks the final stretch to hope for a TOP 10 finish!
Stage 11 ranking
Harith Noah: P11
Rui Gonçalves: DNFProvisional general classification
Harith Noah: P11
Rui Gonçalves: DNFTomorrow, is the last day of the 2024 Dakar, the riders will set off for 328 km including 175 km of special and 153 km of connection with an arrival in Yanbu.
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Harith Noah conquers another day, stays P13 in general ranking: Stage 9
Al Ula (Saudi Arabia), 16 January 2024: Sherco TVS Factory Rally team rider Harith Noah continued his quest for a second Dakar finish safely negotiating the brutal Stage 9 with a 436-km Special and managed to remain in the top-15 in the bikes class of the Dakar Rally 2024 on Tuesday. Three more days are left in the gruelling event which ends on Jan 19.
The 30-year Kerala rider finished the Overall general ranking after 12 days in 13th place after a P14 rank today. He also managed to ride safe and retain his third place in the Rally2 class with a P4 finish in Stage 9.
For this ninth day of racing, the riders set off from Ha’il towards Al Ula for a stage of 435 km. The start of the special was very fast with sandy tracks and it also had some mountains of sand. Navigation becomes complicated when you must guess the tracks rather than following them visually, and riding on rocky plateaus requires both confidence and technique to maintain an ideal pace.
The expedition back to Al Ula has surely brought back some memories. However, it was not a return to square one, because the situation has evolved considerably since the prologue. The return journey spared the competitors from the volcanic rocks, instead opting for the northern route from Al Duwadimi, which nevertheless shared some common ground with the previous visit. Over the majority of the 436-kilometre special, the riders, drivers and crews had to be doubly vigilant, by carefully riding or driving to avoid punctures on the rocky portions and then by paying extreme attention to reading the roadbook when faced with the wealth of tracks in front of them. Noah, who is strong in his navigation was able to adapt and retained his position in the top-15 riders.
Noah’s Sherco teammate, Rui Gonçalves finished 11th overall on the stage. “It was a strange day. The first part where I navigated alone went well. Then I rode with D Sanders and S Svitko. Like many, we wasted a lot of time trying to find the way.” said Harith Noah after the stage.
Tomorrow, the riders will set off for the tenth stage of the Dakar, from Al Ula to Al Ula, a total of 612 km including 371 km of special and 241 km of liaison.
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Historic stage win for Harith Noah in Rally2 class; Overall 11th in Stage 8: Dakar Rally 2024
Hail (Saudi Arabia), 15 January 2024: Sherco TVS Factory Rally Team rider Harith Noah created history by becoming the first from India to win a Stage in any class at the Dakar Rally as he won the 678-km Stage 8 in his class, the Rally2 category for Bikes, here on Monday. Four more days are left in the gruelling Dakar 2024 edition which concludes on Jan 19.
The 30-year Kerala rider covered the technically-challenging stage of 458-km Special and 220-km Liaison from Al Duwadimi to Hail in 3 hours, 42 minutes and 12 seconds on Monday. He was third overall in the general ranking for the Rally2 class while he is in Overall P13 after eight stages in the general ranking. Today, he finished Stage 8 in a creditable P11, just 07minutes 09seconds from the overall leader in Dakar Bikes section.
The rider from Shoranur, thus beat his own record, a P20 he set in 2021, to become the fastest rider from India in the Dakar Rally history with 11th place in Stage 8. With four more days to go, he is taking it day by day to keep his cool to complete his fifth attempt in a successful manner. He became the fastest at Dakar in 2021 when he completed the dreaded rally in 20th place beating the Indian record of pioneer CS Santosh’s P36-finish. In this edition, he also got a top-3 finish in Rally2 class in Stage 3. The Sports Science graduate is sponsored by Sherco TVS Factory Rally Team, TVS Racing, Red Bull and Casio.
Harith Noah in action during Stage 7 on Sunday. Photo by Sherco Rally Factory team Thankfully for the riders, stage eight at Dakar lessened the intensity a little with the 458-kilometer timed special split into two sections, a 179-kilometer liaison joining the two very different halves. The first leg consisted mainly of sandy tracks and dunes, but the second half posed more of a challenge with stones and rocks covering much of the final 119 kilometres leading to the finish in Ha’il.
“Felt good on the bike and my sickness is getting better too. I guess everything feels good when you do good. I am focussed on navigation and pushed when comfortable. I lost some time trying to find the way in the second part. Tomorrow is another day and the Dakar is far from over,” said Harith Noah from Saudi Arabia.
Earlier on Sunday in Stage 7, Noah finished the Stage in Overall general ranking of P13 and P5 in his class, Rally2 despite a running nose throughout the day. Tomorrow, the stage 9 would be from Hail to Al Ula.
Tomorrow, the riders will set off for the ninth stage of the Dakar, from Ha’il to Alula, a total of 639 km including 417 km of special and 222 km of liaison.
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Harith Noah finishes 48h Chrono marathon stage at a career-best P12: Dakar Rally
Riyadh (Saudi Arabia), 13 January 2024: Ace Sherco TVS rider, Harith Noah continued his strong campaign at Dakar Rally 2024 conquering the ‘48-hour Chrono’ marathon stage with a noteworthy 12th place in the general classification for bikes and a third place in the Rally2 class going into the rest day on Saturday
Sherco TVS Factory rider, Noah has made outstanding progress in the 48-hour chrono stage, starting from 21st and climbing up to 12th by the end of the stage. In the overall rankings, he holds 13th position, climbing up from 18th. Harith Noah is sponsored by TVS, Sherco, Scott India, Red Bull India, Stanley Tools India, 100%, Alpine Stars and Mobius Braces.
“This is the longest stage in my life. A 625km in the dunes. On the first day of the 2-day 48h Chrono Stage 6, I managed to do a bulk of the run finishing 430km. I rode with Toni Mulec (Insta @tonimulec) and stopped to give Rui Goncalves of Hero MotoSports some spares. Stopping at 16:30 hours to sleep and go the next day at 6:30 am to do the rest of the stage. I had a few tip-overs and rolled down a big dune without the bike but that was about it, lots of drama but done,” said Harith Noah after the marathon stage. In fact, “the air bag opened up but ‘thanks God! nothing happened,” is how he dismissed it. Now he will have a day’s rest before tackling the second week of the Dakar. He is also involved in a bit of service helping his former training partner Mason Klein helping start his bike along with Dakar legend Nasser Attiyah.
“Harith Noah rewrites the script! Halfway through the brutal Dakar Rally, he sits 13th overall, the highest ever for an Indian. He also bagged a historic podium finish in Rally2! Catch his inspiring journey unfold!,” said TVS Racing in it official Instagram handle.
After six stages and a total of eight days of racing, including the prologue in AlUla, the 46th edition of the Dakar has been a roller-coaster of breakthrough performances, vindications, debacles, plot twists, comebacks and surprises on the tracks and dunes of Saudi Arabia. The culmination of the first week, the brand-new 48H Chrono concept, scattered drivers and co-drivers across the Empty Quarter and delivered on its promise: nearly every category saw a change in leadership as the field emerged from the dunes, just before the rest day in Riyadh.
Bivouch during Stage 6 at Dakar before the rest day! Photo by Florent Gooden/DPPI Exactly at the midpoint, with another 2,384 kilometres of specials on equally diverse terrains ahead, the big kahunas will now get to grips with the return trip in their bids to claim victory in Yanbu.
Ricky Brabec and his Honda teammates have laid down a marker; Carlos Sainz and Mattias Ekström‘s Audis are calling the shots ahead of Sébastien Loeb; Eryk Goczał is trouncing the opposition in the Challenger class; Yasir Seaidan‘s dominance in SSV race is softening the blow of Yazeed Al Rajhi‘s exit for the Saudi fans; and Martin Macík rolled into the capital as the king of the juggernauts.
All in all, 291 out of the 330 vehicles at the start have completed the first half of the rally, including 111 motorbikes (out of 122), 8 quads (out of 10) for the FIM entrants; and 59 Ultimate cars (out of 70), 40 Challenger cars (out of 42), 30 SSVs (out of 36), 3 Stock cars (out of 3) and 40 trucks (out of 47). The Czech Ondřej Klymčiw continues to deliver a masterclass in the Dakar Classic regularity race.
Motorbikes: Honda gains the upper hand
Four years ago, Ricky Brabec won the Dakar while picking up two stage victories along the way. Could the American add a second trophy to his case this year by playing the quiet game again? Riding without fanfare, avoiding blunders and staying in the ideal position to press forward without taking excessive risks, Brabec took over the reins of the rally following the previous special, the sixth of the rally. In the top 3 since day one, the Honda rider has truly come into his own, gaining an edge over his rivals in the dunes of the Empty Quarter. Of course, with another six gruelling stages ahead, his margin of under a minute over Ross Branch is far from guaranteeing him the triumph that he has been chasing for such a long time, not least because there are other riders who are still in the running too. Adrien Van Beveren made hay of the long 48-hour stage in the Saudi sands to narrow his deficit to the lead group. Now third overall at 9′21″, the Frenchman remains a force to be reckoned with going into the second week. So is Nacho Cornejo, the winner of stages 2 and 4, who is just 14 minutes down on his Californian teammate and leader. A bit further down, Toby Price and Kevin Benavides fly the flag for KTM, less than half an hour behind Brabec. The Australian is biding his time, waiting for an opening to launch his attack, while the Argentinian, still grappling with the sequelae of a leg fracture, is picking up steam.
On the flip side, multiple pretenders to the crown saw their hopes and dreams crushed in the opening week. Tosha Schareina, the Spanish rising star who signed for Honda, broke his wrist in the very first stage after bagging the prologue. Meanwhile, Skyler Howes lost plenty of time in the first few stages, eventually bowing out due to mechanical issues in the dunes of the Empty Quarter. Staying with Honda, Pablo Quintanilla was in the lead group when he ran out of fuel during the soul-crushing stage 6 and plummeted down the overall. Other early withdrawals include Sam Sunderland, who succumbed to a mechanical in stage 3; Sherco’s main hope, Lorenzo Santolino; and Joan Barreda, who was tackling his first Dakar with Hero. This leaves Ross Branch without a wingman for the second week of the rally after Joaquim Rodrigues and Sebastian Bühler crashed out of the race. Up against the mighty Honda brigade, the Botswanan will need a hefty dose of luck to overcome the many perils lurking on the road to Yanbu.
Meanwhile, in Rally 2, the incredible Jean-Loup Lepan stormed to the lead after stage 6. The Frenchman, rock-solid since the Dakar got under way, also claimed stages 2 and 6 and, to top it off, he is sitting tenth overall, an hour and a half behind Ricky Brabec. Now second in the standings, Romain Dumontier held the lead for quite a while, but a fuel hiccup in stage 6 cost him a loss of 50 minutes to Lepan. Nursing a broken rib, the winner of the 2023 Rally-Raid World Cup will have to grit his teeth all the way to Yanbu to snag a spot on the final podium. Harith Noah, Paolo Lucci and Bradley Cox are piling on the pressure within half an hour of the leader. Heinz Kidigadner‘s young nephew Tobias Ebster is another man to watch. The Austrian is perched at the top of the Original by Motul leader board and clinched stage 5 in the Rally 2 class. He will be the talk of the town for a long time to come.
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Harith Noah finishes Stage 5 in P20; gets P7 in Rally2 class
Shubaytah (Saudi Arabia), 10 January 2024: Sherco TVS Factory team rider Harith Noah, completed another strong run finishing Stage 5 in P20 and was in 18th place in the Provisional General Classification while taking the P7 slot in his class, the Rally2 category where he is currently in Overall P4 after six days (including the Prologue) and five stages at the Dakar Rally 2024 on Wednesday.
The fifth stage from Al-Hofuf to Shubaytah had a total distance of 645 km, including 118 km of special and 527 km of liaison consisting mainly of sandy dunes.
Earlier on Tuesday, Harith Noah continued his strong run with a P21 in Stage 4. He finished P5 in his class, the Rally2 category for bikes.
The Kerala rider is preparing for Stage 6, another marathon stage which will last for 48 hours. Tomorrow evening, the riders will not have any outside assistance, no internet connection, no news, no information. The sixth stage of the Dakar will be from Shubaytah to Shubaytah, 626 km of special and 209 km of liaison.
Harith Noah in action during the marathon Stage 5 on Wednesday. A Sherco team image Harith Noah said: “It was a short stage and only made up of dunes. I felt good, but I had a little problem, sand slipped into my fuel during refueling. I am very happy to cross the finish line today. Now it’s time to rest and recover well before the marathon stage that starts tomorrow!”
Noah’s teammate at Sherco, Rui Gonçalves rode in the top-10 for part of the special. He was however the victim of a fall in a dune, he left with pain in his thumb, had to reconnect the navigation system which had been moved out of position because of the fall. He lost contact with the race leaders and ended up finishing the day in 18th position. He managed the navigation well and found the right pace again from the start. He is 15th in the provisional general classification.
Brand new concept of 48hours
Thursday’s stage will be an unprecedented challenge that has the competitors quaking in their boots. While this is also a two-day stage, the experience of marathon stages will not be of much use in the new paradigm of the 48-hour chrono stage. Imagine the grandiose clang of a bell filling the twilight air in the Empty Quarter, ordering every single competitor to halt their vehicle and spend the night under the starry skies before getting back on the move at sunrise. This is how this new challenge will work. The time limit is 4pm. When the clock strikes four, the entrants will have to stop at the next of the six rest areas that punctuate the course of the special. Once they get there, the competitors will receive bare-bones camping material and just enough provisions to make it through the night in the desert, without any connection and, therefore, without any information on how their rivals are doing. Cut off from the rest of the world.
Never before have the title contenders in the motorbike category spent eight hours in a special. The Empty Quarter, with dunes as far as the eye can see, will set the scene for this historic first. The race is no stranger to this area, but the difficulty of this larger-than- life special has been kicked up a notch. Chotts will give the competitors some time to breathe between one dune chain and the next. However, the navigation will be fiendishly difficult, with hard-to-find courses and hidden WPs that will drive many entrants round the bend: “I won’t be winning any popularity contests,” sighs David Castera. In fact, his old brothers in arms in the car category will face the same challenge as the two-wheelers. The FIA and FIM entrants will follow separate courses, so the co-drivers will have to do without the motorbikes’ traces”.
Stage 5 Ranking
Rui Gonçalves: P18
Harith Noah: P20
Provisional general classification
Rui Gonçalves: P15
Harith Noah: P18
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Harith Noah finishes P6 in his class despite cramps; ends Stage 1 in Overall 21st
Al Henakiyah (Saudi Arabia) 6 Jan. 2024: Despite cramps and severe pain, TVS Racing product, Harith Noah, proved that he is made of sterner mettle and began his fifth Dakar cautiously but on a strong note, finishing Stage 1 at 21st place among 132 riders in the Moto class of the Dakar Rally after riding a tough 414-km terrain on Saturday.
“Saturday was a very hard day for me. After refuelling at kilometre 200 or so, I started getting cramps all over my body and then a very bad headache. This has never happened to me before. Quitting really crossed my mind a couple of times. Trying to figure out what could have caused this and hopping it won’t happen again,” said Harith Noah from Dakar and on a note of hope, continued… “On to tomorrow!”
The hiccups notwithstanding, the fastest rider at Dakar from India, Noah, posted his best Stage ranking in his class Rally2, with a commendable sixth position. He is supported by TVS company, Sherco, Scott India, Red Bull India, Stanley Tools India, 100%, Alpine Stars and Mobius Braces.
Harith Noah at Dakar 2024 in Saudi Arabia. A TVS photo Ashish Raorane crashes out with fractured collar bone
The other Indian at Dakar, privateer Ashish Raorane from Pune, crashed out after 168 km mark as he fractured his collar bone in two places. A disappointed Ashish, who was riding a a KTM 450 Rally Replica, said: “I am absolutely gutted. At KM169 of today’s stage, I had a crash and fractured my collar bone. I tried to ride on, but it was an impossible task. It’s a hard pill to swallow when you’ve spent a few years preparing to have all that hard work wiped off in seconds but I guess that’s the nature of off-road sport. I definitely was feeling great on the bike today, unfortunately a silly crash did me in. It’s definitely gonna take sometime to digest this.”
“For now, I’ve to head back to India to get a surgery done to fix me up. Thank you for the support and wishes, I wish there was a better outcome to this campaign,”he lamented.
The Indian rider supported by Xraids Experience team is in Rally2 class. He finished Dakar in the experience class in 2021 and this is his second attempt. He is supported by Rynox Gear, Reise Moto, Dosmoto Design, Slipstream Performance, Motousher, Bigbadbikes, Lazyassbikers, Eleven777, Wanderlooms, Baycity Powerparts.
Ashish Raorane in action on Stage 1, before he crashed out at 168-km point on 6 Jan. 2024. Harith Noah… on to tomorrow
Starting the Special between rocks and canyons on sand for the first 25km, similar to what he tackled in the prologue on Friday. While the sandy canyons are more open and faster till PK22, the later mountainous canyons with lots of eroded rocks offered more technical terrain that is difficult to navigate and easy to make mistakes. But the Kerala champion then navigated the terrain which was open alternating sections of wadis, off-piste and lots of changes of direction despite being wavy and winding. It went on to rough ground, rocks of volcanic lava for about another 130 km before finishing on the alternating tracks and wadis to end the day with an overall P21 finish. Towards the second half, he started getting cramps and had to ride with grit and will power, even though the route offered gravel tracks inside of narrow valleys surrounded by mountains and volcanic rivers of black stones and wide valleys on gravel. They had beautiful sectors of vegetation too but the TVS rider was struggling to continue. But with a determined focus on the finish line, Noah continued the tempo and never gave up to end overall 21st clocking, 5 hours, 33 minutes and 42 seconds astride his Sherco TVS 450 SEF Rally from AlUla to Al Henakiyah.
Indian Constructor Hero’s Ross Branch romped home with the fastest time in the special and scooped up his fourth career Dakar stage win. The Botswanan airline pilot who moonlights as a rally-raid racer also surged ahead in the overall, where he now holds a 12-minute margin over the 2020 Dakar champion, Ricky Brabec, and Mason Klein, who embraced the task of opening the road with panache and spent the entire stage alone at the front.
J-Rod crashes out
Rule number 1 in a motorbike race is to stay upright no matter how many pebbles, stones or rocks stand in the way. A couple of riders broke this cardinal rule this morning, as the seasoned Joaquim Rodrigues crashed out of the race at km 82 and the budding talent Tosha Schareina bowed out of his third Dakar at km 240 with a fractured arm. “J-Rod” had earned the Hero Motosport Rally team their maiden stage-win in 2022.
Performance of the Day
Mason Klein, once the training partner of Harith Noah, was not even sure that he would be able to start his third Dakar on his brand-new second-generation Kove, which got stuck in customs in Dubai, but his Chinese mount finally arrived a few hours before the gong rang on the technical scrutineering.
The American finished in the top-10 in the prologue and picked his starting order for Stage 1. The 22-year-old privateer chose to start first, a position typically avoided by Rally GP riders that would have usually gone to Skyler Howes, the worst performer in the opening romp.
“The idea of opening the first stage at the Dakar is really cool so, in the end, no regrets because now I can say I’ve done it.” Klein again showed that he is a box full of surprises, not just because he spent the 400-km long hard slog alone at the front, picking up 6 hours, 21min. in bonuses and third place at the finish, but also because he did it on a motorbike that he had barely even touched before, “This is my third time on the bike now and I couldn’t be happier.” Today, Klein proved two things to himself and the rest of the field. First, that China has what it takes to become a rally-raid superpower in the near future. And second, that the word “impossible” is just a challenge to the 22-year-old American.
Cox-Dumontier, a duel at the summit
Bradley Cox and Romain Dumontier finished third and first, respectively, in the 2023 FIM Rally-Raid World Cup in the Rally 2 class, the last rung on the ladder before Rally GP. The South African and the Frenchman make no secret of their common ambition in this edition of the Dakar: to show their faces in the top 10 of each stage to try and catch the eye of a factory team. Alfie Cox’s son, victorious in the last two Rally 2 rounds in 2023, finished the special in fourth place, within two minutes of the overall podium. “Dudu”, sixth today, is less than a minute behind his new arch-rival for the championship. The two Rally 2 riders outperformed as many as thirteen of the sixteen factory riders still in the Dakar. The Rally 2 scene is gaining depth. Take Mason Klein: a veteran of the Rally 2 class, which he won in 2022, he is now standing on the provisional podium of the Dakar.
On Sunday, 7th of January, the riders will set off for the 2nd stage of the Dakar, from Al Henakiyah to Al Duwadimi, 655 km of racing.
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Harith Noah finishes Prologue in 29th place; Ashish Raorane 73rd
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 Raorane, the second Indian
The other Indian rider, Pune privateer Ashish Raorane, managed to finish P73 in his class, the Rally2. He clocked a time of 31min, 25sec.
Ashish Raorane’ is no factory rider. He spends most of his time on boats as a marine engineer. As a kid he started riding on the old rusty bike of his father. Several decades later he was participating in a cross-country rally in the Himalayas that gave him that taste and desire for the Dakar. Inspired by CS Santosh, the first Indian biker to start and finish the Dakar (back in 2015), he wanted to prove to his fellow compatriots that the Dakar wasn’t only for top factory riders. A very competitive table-tennis player back in his youth, he wanted to show that a normal biker could give it a go. Sadly that first Dakar in 2021 ended as soon as stage 5 when the Indian from Mumbai crashed out. He was able however to continue in the Dakar Experience all the way to Jeddah but that certainly wasn’t what he was hoping for. Three years later Raorane has decided to return for unfinished business. This time the 42-year-old will be part of the Xraids Experience team. An option he hopes will this time help him achieve his dream.
How it all began for Ashish!
“A friend of mine was at home and he showed me a documentary about the Baja 1000. We were both fascinated. That’s what pushed me to compete in Baja races in India. In 2015, I did my first cross-country rally in the Himalayas. I then built on that experience with the aim to one day do the Dakar. I followed the Dakar thanks to CS Santosh. He was an inspiration. I raced with him in India and he’s been very helpful. But it seemed that only Indian factory riders were able to do the Dakar and my idea was to change that perspective and show that a privateer like me can do it. My experience at the first Dakar was bitter sweet. Being my first Dakar, and in the Original by Motul category, I knew it was going to be tough but I was happy with how I was managing my race. The unfortunate accident on stage 5 took me out of the running. My return to the Dakar Rally is the next natural step for me, which ideally should’ve have happened in Dakar 2023 but several factors led to that not happening, ‘’c’est la vie’’. This time I’m racing with Team Xraids Experience from Spain and they’ve provided me excellent support from the beginning of 2023, racing at the Abu Dhabi Desert and through the year after that for preparations. We are working closely now to have the best possible solution for my Dakar’24 campaign”.
Saturday, Stage 1
The tough, action-packed challenge of Stage 1 sets the tone for the 2024 edition. Its course, drawn from scratch in an area with geological features never seen before in the Dakar, will throw the competitors in at the deep end. The field will snake around volcanoes in a palette of mineral hues filled with every shade of grey, from the dimmest to the brightest. Even at this early point in the race, this stage is difficult enough to open big gaps. It has both huge stretches of sands and difficult dunes.
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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
