Indian rider Harith Noah scripted history on Monday by becoming the first Indian ever to win a stage at the prestigious Dakar Rally. The 26-year-old rider, born in Germany and representing the Sherco TVS Rally Factory squad, secured victory in Stage 8 in the Rally 2 class. Despite battling a cold, Noah had an impressive performance in Stage 7, finishing 16th overall. However, his standout moment came on Monday when he posted the best in-class time right from the first checkpoint.
Currently, Harith Noah holds the 13th position in the overall standings after completing Stage 8. In the Rally 2 class, he is placed third. Expressing his thoughts on social media, Noah mentioned, “P11 (overall standing) Stage 8, 458km. Felt good on the bike and my sickness is getting better too. I guess everything feels good when you do good. Focused on navigation and pushed when comfortable, lost some time trying to find the way in the second part. Tomorrow is another day and the Dakar is far from over.”
The Dakar Rally is known for its challenging terrain and demanding conditions, making it one of the toughest off-road races in the world. Harith Noah’s achievement is significant not only for him personally but also for Indian motorsport. His success adds to the growing interest and participation of Indian riders on the international stage.
Sebastien Loeb of Prodrive claimed victory on Stage 9 of the Dakar Rally, marking his fourth win in this year’s competition. The stage covered 400km of the special stage, featuring dunes, complicated navigation, and rocky, sandy tracks. Despite Loeb’s impressive performance, Carlos Sainz, driving for Audi, continues to lead the overall standings in the cars category. Ricky Brabec on a Honda maintains his lead in the bikes category.
Sebastien Loeb, a nine-time world rally champion, managed to reduce the time gap to Sainz by 4 minutes and 14 seconds. However, Sainz remains provisionally ahead by 20 minutes and 33 seconds. The competition is heating up as the Dakar Rally approaches its final stages, with the last stage scheduled to finish in Yanbu on the shores of the Red Sea.
Reflecting on the challenging stage, Loeb mentioned, “It was a good day for us, a long stage. We had two punctures in the middle of the stage, so at the end I had to be a bit careful and not have a third one. The gap is still big, but we still have three stages to go. So, we’ll see, and we’ll continue to push for the next three days.”
Carlos Sainz, a two-time winner of the Dakar, faced difficulties during Stage 9 but received support from his Audi teammates Mattias Ekstrom and Stephane Peterhansel. Peterhansel, a 14-time Dakar winner, stated, “I waited for Carlos for six minutes at the start to escort him throughout the special, always 30 seconds behind just in case. You could see that he was hesitating a few times, which isn’t too bad a thing when navigating, but it still wasn’t an easy stage. Carlos is in a good position. But Sebastien is capable of recovering 10 minutes a day, or even more if he goes to the limit.”
Frenchman Mathieu Serradori of Century secured the third position in Stage 9, finishing 4 minutes and 43 seconds behind Loeb. The Dakar Rally continues to captivate motorsport enthusiasts worldwide, and Harith Noah’s historic stage win has undoubtedly added a special chapter to India’s representation in this renowned off-road competition.
