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Dakar 2022: Harith Noah moves up further

Noah clocked 4 hrs, 12min and 30sec to complete the timed special of almost 400kms in the stage which was won by England's Sam Sunderland.

Harith Noah

Bengaluru, January 10: Sherco TVS Factory Team rider Harith Noah finished 26th in Stage 8 of FIA 2022 Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia to improve his overall ranking by a position to 26th.

Accoring to a Media Release received, Noah clocked 4 hrs, 12min and 30sec to complete the timed special of almost 400kms in the stage which was won by Great Britain's Sam Sunderland.

On the ninth day of racing in the Saudi Arabian deserts, the 28-year-old treaded a cautious path for the first 86kms in the long liaisons, and action-packed dunes.

Dakar 2022: Harith Noah conquers tricky stage to stay afloatDakar 2022: Harith Noah conquers tricky stage to stay afloat

The five-time Indian National Supercross champion then saw the trek to southern Saudi Arabia and its tough sands, drag on and lost about 10 places. Undaunted, he progressed later on, even as the minds and bodies of the competitors were put to a hard test.

The Sports Science graduate from Shoranur, Kerala attacked the next 200kms of the special, and by Waypoint 6, moved up and further improved thereafter as he jumped from one valley to another.

Eventually, the landscapes changed and the tough negotiator ended up the day in a respectable 26th in the stage after traversing a distance of 820kms.

Competing in RallyGP, the premier class of the Moto section in the 44th Dakar Rally, Noah, who had a tough first week due to extreme cold conditions and a couple of falls, has come into his own and looking forward to the last four stages.

Astride a Sherco 450 SEF Rally, Noah, the only rider representing India at Dakar 2022, had spent months in preparation for the gruelling rally and is happy at his progresss.

"I enjoyed the stage for the second day running and I am getting into my rhythm. It was a long and tough day but I like tricky navigation like this stage. I am still in the race and glad to fighting another stage tommorrow," said Noah, who rides a Sherco 450 SEF.

Noah's team-mate at Sherco Rally Factory team -- Spaniard Lorenzo Santolino -- is in overall 7th place while other Sherco rider Rui Goncalves of Portugal is a position behind Noah in 27th.

Meanwhile, Hero MotoSports, the other Indian two-wheeler manufacturer in the 140-plus Moto field, saw their lead rider Joaquim Rodrigues from Portugal in overall 15th place while Aaron Mare of South Africa is 17th in the General overall ranking.

Four more stages are left in the 2022 FIA Dakar Rally, as the competitors are now thrown straight in at the deep as the action gets interesting with the business end approaching.

The most-demanding off-raod rally will conclude in Jeddah on Friday (January 14).

Dakar Rally 2022 (Stage 8) Provisional Classification:
1. #3 Sam Sunderland (Britain) (Gas Gas Factory) 03Hours 48min 02seconds;
2. #7 Pablo Quintanilla (Chile) (Monster Energy Honda); 03H 50' 55"; +02' 53";
3. #52 Mathias Walkner (Austria) (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing); 03H 52' 13"; +4' 11";
26. #20 Harith Noah (Sherco TVS Rally Team) 4H 12'30"; +00H 24'28"

Overall Provisional Classification (after stage 8)
1. #3 Sam Sunderland (Britain) (Gas Gas Factory) 27Hours 38min 42seconds;
2. #52 Mathias Walkner (Austria) (Red Bull KTM Factory Team); 27H 42' 27"; +03' 45";
3. #42 Adrian van Beveren (France) (Monster Energy Yamaha Rally); 27H 43' 25";+4' 43";
26. #20 Harith Noah (Sherco TVS Rally Team) 29H, 50' 47"; +2H 12' 05".

ends/10jan2022

Story first published: Monday, January 10, 2022, 19:45 [IST]
Other articles published on Jan 10, 2022