Dakar 2022: Harith Noah conquers tricky stage to stay afloat

As
competitors
took
a
well
earned
day
off
from
the
track,
the
mechanics
got
busy
tuning
up
the
race
vehicles
for
a
second
week
of
intense
off-road
action
and
after
the
rest
day,
it
has
been
business
as
usual
for
the
competitors.

The
28-year-old,
who
is
the
only
rider
representing
India
in
the
most-demanding
off-road
rally
in
its
44th
edition
began
on
an
aggressive
note
and
shot
into
the
top-16
after
the
first
50kms
negotiating
rough
terrain
and
long
stretches
of
dunes
before
the
second
Waypoint.

As
per
a

Media
Release
received,
despite
having
to
ride
back
losing
about
10kms,
to
log
at
a
missed
Waypoint,
the
Kerala-based
rider
displayed
enough
grit
and
continued
his
stunning
pace
to
advance
admirably
in
the
402kms
timed
special
stage.

Dakar
2022:
Harith
Noah
defies
odds
to
improve
overall
ranking

The
Sports
Science
graduate
from
Shoranur
had
injured
his
shoulder
badly
during
the
second
fall
in
Stage
5,
but
carried
the
injury
bravely
and
with
grit
moved
ahead
steadily.
“I
enjoyed
the
stage
despite
being
a
cold
day.
It
was
a
long
and
tough
day
with
challenging
navigation
and
tricky
dunes,
but
I
like
difficult
navigation.
I
was
alone
all
day
and
was
pushing
myself
all
the
way,”
said
Noah.

With
sights
firmly
trained
on
the
finishline
in
Jeddah
on
Friday
(January
14),
Noah
exuded
confidence.

“I
hope
there’ll
be
more
days
like
this
and
today
was
fun,”
he
added.

Astride
a
Sherco
450
SEF
Rally,
the
Indian
spent
months
in
preparation
for
the
the
gruelling
rally
and
cleared
another
stage
which
saw
four
more
of
the
140
plus
riders
suffer
casualty.

Harith
Noah
gears
up
for
Dakar
2022

Noah’s
team-mates
at
Sherco,
Lorenzo
Santolino
was
the
best
among
those
with
India
connections,
finishing
5th
ahead
of
Hero
MotoSports
Joaquim
Rodriques
while
another
Sherco
rider
Rui
Goncalves
was
placed
16th.

Aaron
Mare,
the
youngster
from
Hero
MotoSports
was
placed
22nd.

Five
more
stages
are
left
in
the
12-stage
7200-km
rally,
the
first
leg
of
the
new
World
Cross
Country
rally
championship.

The
2022
FIA
Dakar
Rally
convoy
has
now
clocked
up
nearly
2,500km
of
racing
over
perilous
terrain
in
Saudi
Arabia.

The
Dakar
competitors
are
thrown
straight
in
at
the
deep
as
the
action
gets
interesting
with
the
business
end
approaching.
Buck
up
guys!

Dakar
Rally
2022
(Stage
7)
Provisional
Classification:

1.
#11
Jose
Ignacio
Cornejo
F
(Chile)
(Monster
Energy
Honda).
03H
28′
46″;
2.
#1
Kevin
Benavides
(Argentina)
(Red
Bull
KTM
Factory
Racing);
03H
29′
30″
+00′
44″.
3.
#88
Joan
Barreda
Bort
(Spain)
(Monster
Energy
Honda);
03H
31′
37″;
+2′
51″;
4.
Luciano
Benavides
(ARG),
Husqvarna,
3H
36′
36″
+7′
50″;
5.
Lorenzo
Santolino
(ESP),
Sherco,
3H
37′
15″
+8′
29″;

23.
Harith
Noah
(Sherco
TVS
Rally
Team)
3H
51’10”
+00H
22’24;

Overall
Provisional
Classification
(after
stage
7)
1.
#42
Adrian
van
Beveren
(France)
(Monster
Energy
Yamaha
Rally
Team);
23H
45′
02″;
2.
#52
Mathias
Walkner
(Austria)
(Red
Bull
KTM
Factory
Team);
23H
50′
14″;
+05’12”;
3.
#1
Kevin
Benavides
(Argentina)
(Red
Bull
KTM
Factory
Racing);
23H
50′
25″;
+05′
23″.

27.
Harith
Noah
(Sherco
TVS
Rally
Team)
25H,
38′
17″;
+1H
53′
15″.