Harith Noah capped two gruelling weeks in the Saudi Arabian desert with a slice of history on Friday, becoming the first Indian ever to win at the Dakar Rally in the Rally 2 class and finishing 11th overall, missing the coveted top 10 spot by six minutes. Competing in his fifth Dakar Rally, Noah was over four minutes clear of second-placed Romain Dumontier.
This is the best ranking achieved by an Indian in Dakar rally. The 12-stage race saw the TVS Sherco rider come into his own in the second week after battling some health issues in the opening week. Stage 6 saw him jump from P18 to P13 overall and he climbed two more places after Stage 8, a position he maintained till the end of the rally. Noah set the fastest time in Stage 8 and Stage 10.
He finished Stage 11 in second place behind BAS World KTM Racing Team’s Bradley Cox. The South African defeated Noah by eight minutes and 29 seconds, but a strong finish meant the Indian took the lead in the Rally 2 general rankings. Romain Dumontier, on top in overall rankings after Stage 10, lost more than 18 minutes and 30 seconds to Cox on Thursday.
Prior to this, Noah’s best finish was the overall 20th place, which also happened to be the best Dakar result achieved by an Indian.
The Rally GP class is reserved for experienced competitors only and all riders in this class must be accepted by the FIM Championship Committee in accordance with their sporting experience. The Rally 2 class, on the other hand, is open to all those not registered on the RallyGP riders list.
“I just tried to ride every kilometre one at a time. I tried to navigate and not look at the results, just riding the bike. I think the most surprised I was was on stage ten, I think, when I was leading for some time and then I got fifth overall on the scratch. That really surprised me. It’s a really nice feeling to know that you have it in you,” Noah said after the race.
“I’m happy that I’ve finished. That was the main goal, to reach the finishing line and we are here. 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,” he added.
Born in Germany and raised in Shornur in Kerala, Noah is only the third Indian, after KP Aravind and CS Santosh, to participate om Dakar rally. He started his racing career in 2011 and is a seven-time national Supercross champion.
Hero on podium
There was more cheer for India as Hero MotoSports’ Ross Branch finished second in the overall standings. With this, Hero became the first Indian team to score a podium finish at the Dakar Rally. Monster Energy Honda’s Ricky Brabec won the rally in bikes category while Carlos Sainz clinched Audi’s first-ever Dakar win. Sainz’s triumph was the Spaniard’s fourth Dakar win.
