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Dakar 2022: Despite broken ribs and loss of rear brakes Harith Noah keeps fighting all the way

On the 11th day of the 44th Dakar Rally, Noah was initially classified as 31st, but a late penalty of 15min saw him slip to 44th as the lone rider representing India held on to his overall ranking of 27th.

Harith Noah

Bengaluru, January 11: Sherco TVS Racing Factory rider Harith defied the odds despite broken ribs and loss of rear brakes to finish 44th in the tough Stage 9 of Dakar 2022 in Saudi Arabia.

As per a Media Release, Noah was initially classified as 31st on the 11th day of the 44th Dakar Rally, but a late penalty of 15min saw him slip to 44th, as the lone rider representing India held on to his overall ranking of 27th.

The Sports Science graduate from Kerala, however, moved closer to the coveted goal of completing his fourth Dakar Rally.

Dakar 2022: Harith Noah moves up further Dakar 2022: Harith Noah moves up further

Early into the timed stages, the Shoranur-based rider had issues with the rear brake, but still began well in the first 40kms towards the first check point and stood at 16th.

Later on, he managed to ride his bike with the front brakes only and fell behind by about 12min to the leader. Despite the hiccups, the 28-year-old completed the 200kms mark, though he lost a few positions in the process.

But later, he pushed with determination and recovered from 34th position to finish the stage 31st with a time of 2hrs, 46min and 55sec, before being penalised later.

Negotiating 491kms of sands, dunes and rocky terrain with the loss of rear brakes and painful ribs is a testimony to the courage and bravery of a professional motorsports endurance athlete.

"Today wasn't an ideal day. I had a technical issue, a few kilometres into the timed stage. A stone hit it and I lost the rear brakes. I only had the front and it wasn't easy, but I tried to manage.

"I came to know that I broke two ribs on Stage 7 when a rock flew from another rider in the front and hit my chest when I was passing. It was hurting a lot and I got to know this morning. Now, I've to do a medical check," said Noah.

"But that doesn't change anything. I finished safe and sound and it's a long stage tomorrow with no dunes, so it's going to be fun," the Sherco TVS Factory rider added.

His Sherco team-mate Rui Goncalves had a decent stage finishing two places down from where he started in 16th while Lorenzo Santolino was 25th.

Santolino remains the lead rider for TVS with seventh overall while Goncalves is 26th, a place ahead of Noah.

Hero MotoSports, the other Indian team in Dakar 2022, had a decent day. Lead rider Joaquim Rodrigues dropped a few places by the time he reached the first waypoint, but improved on every section from there on and finsihed 11th in the stage and 15th overall. Hero team-mate Aaron Mare finished 21st to end up 17th overall.

Stage 10 on Wednesday (January 12) offers a different terrain on the way to Bisha, with a rich variety of landscape and is considered to have one of the fastest timed stages in Dakar. The Dakar 2022 ends on Friday (January 14) in the Red City of Jeddah.

Dakar Rally 2022 (Stage 9) Provisional Classification:
1. #11 Jose Ignacio Cornejo Florimo (Chile) (Monster Energy Honda) 02H, 29'30";
2. #1 Kevin Benavides (Argentina) (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) 02H, 30'56"; +01' 26";
3. #2 Ricky Brabec (USA) (Monster Energy Honda) 02H, 31' 17"; + 01'47";
44 (31 initially). #20 Harith Noah (Sherco TVS Rally Team) 2H 46'55"; +00H 17'25"; Plus 15' penalty.

Overall Provisional Classification (after stage 9)
1. #52 Mathias Walkner (Austria) (Red Bull KTM Factory Team); 30H 14' 03";
2. #3 Sam Sunderland (Britain) (Gas Gas Factory) 30H; 16' 15"; +02' 12";
3. #42 Adrian van Beveren (France) (Monster Energy Yamaha Rally); 30H 17' 59";+3' 56";
27. #20 Harith Noah (Sherco TVS Rally Team) 32H, 37' 42"; +2H 23' 39". +15' penalty (in Stage 9).

Story first published: Tuesday, January 11, 2022, 21:22 [IST]
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