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Dakar 2022: Harith Noah survives crash, retains 31st place

Competing in the top RallyGP class in Moto section, the 28-year-old retained his general ranking of 31 after the 707kms Stage 4 which was was won by Spain's Joan Barreda Bort.

Harith Noah

Bengaluru, January 5: TVS Racing factory team rider Harith Noah survived a crash before finishing 31st in Stage 4 of 2022 FIA Dakar Rally, currently underway in the Saudi Arabian deserts.

As per a Media Release, the 28-year-old, who competes in the top RallyGP class in Moto section, retained his general ranking of 31 after the 707kms Stage 4 which was was won by Spain's Joan Barreda Bort.

The hard sands were to his liking and Noah, began Stage 4 aggressively, but lost pace after the fall at around 300kms point where he hit his shoulder first.

Dakar 2022: Harith Noah continues impressive runDakar 2022: Harith Noah continues impressive run

But the Kerala-based rider recovered and finished in the tougher part to clock 4hrs, 34 min and 14sec.

"It was a longer stage with less sand today and to my liking as the sand was hard like in India. I had good pace till I had a crash where I landed on my shoulder. Later, I took easy as I was in pain and just managed to finish the stage. Xray and ultrasound revealed no damage and yes, I am game to race tomorrow again," said Noah.

Dakar 2022: India's lone rider Harith Noah eyes a good show in Saudi Arabian desertsDakar 2022: India's lone rider Harith Noah eyes a good show in Saudi Arabian deserts

Noah, the Sports Science graduate and a five-time Indian national champion, astride a Sherco 450 SEF rally-prepared machine, shot into the top-16 after the first waypoint, gaining 13 places from his 29th position, but rode in pain after the fall and finished the course admirably and even managed to retain his position.

The Hero MotoSports Rally Team's Stage 3 winner Joaquim Rodriques of Portugal slipped to 35th.

His team-mate South African Aaron Mare logged a penalty and finished the stage 40th. In the overall rankings, Aaron is in 15th place and Rodrigues is 19th.

Noah's team-mates from Sherco TVS Factory Rally Team came out in flying colours and challenged for stage podium through out the 11 waypoints. The youngster among the two, Rui Goncalves, finished third while Lorenzo Santolino, followed him in fourth.

Santolino is now in 5th overall while Goncalves is lying 38th.

Four things to know about Dakar Rally 2022Four things to know about Dakar Rally 2022

The 44th Dakar Rally which began with a Prologue on the New Year's day is slated to conclude on January 14 after 12 stages. The rest day is on January 8 at Riyadh.

Organised by Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO), it is the third year that the most-demanding off-road rally is being held in Saudi Arabia.

The special stages which started start in Ha'il and will end in Jeddah, is slated to go through canyons and cliffs in the Neom region, passing by the Red Sea coastline, into stretches of dunes surrounding Riyadh, with a lot more action on sand dunes in the Empty Quarter.

The total distance of the route is nearly 7,500 kms. Only an elite few, who were successful in another qualifier, join the world's best at premier break-or-make event in the cross-country rally world.

The risks for the most-demanding off-road races get bigger every year as the talent pool also gets deeper, with organisers ASO out to contain top speeds by keeping the roadbooks tight and tough, meaning navigation is crucial.

The highly competitive field will try their hardest to complete all stages from Jeddah to Ha'il and Riyadh then back again with a slew of fascinating stories set to play out across the respective vehicle categories.

Story first published: Wednesday, January 5, 2022, 21:28 [IST]
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