Harith Noah beats Santosh for the 3rd day running in high-altitude dunes
By David Bodapati
Stage 3: Bisha to Wadi Ad-Dawasir, (Saudi
Arabia) 5 Jan 2021: TVS Racing’s product and second-timer Harith Noah
Koitha Veettil of Kerala finished the Dakar Rally 2021 Stage 3 successfully to finish in 27th position for the Day’s Stage 3 ranking, which got him an overall 31st position after 3 days of Dakar as he completed the 629-km in 3hour, 56minutes and 41seconds, just off 23minutes and 18 seconds from the Stage winner RedBull KTM’s Toby Price time of 3:33:23 on Tuesday.
Harith Noah said: “Quite happy with how today went. Being able to ride Stage 3, unlike last year (where he crashed out) in itself seems like a step in the right direction. Yet another fast but long stage. Rode in the zone and focused on not making any significant mistakes in navigation and the stone sections. Rode with @camchapcc & @mauriziogerini42 up through the first few waypoints. After 150 km or so, it was just me and myself, until I reached the finish line. Tomorrow is another day, another stage.”
Despite taking a looped stage of high-altitude, with its 403km Timed Special that took place south of the bivouac at Wadi Ad-Dawasir. Harith Noah faced another tough day of navigation and varied terrain, with soft sand dunes once again forming the first half of the special, before opening out into faster, sandy tracks. The German-born Keralite continued his stunning run on the dunes some of which were at a high altitude of over 1000m above sea level on the third day and beat compatriot and HERO MotoSport’s CS Santosh, the pioneer in Indian rally raid endurance and an ambassador of motorsport, who is on his 7th Dakar appearance.
CS Santosh, who put in another consistent performance finishing exactly in the same position as yesterday, 36th in Stage 3, for an overall ranking of 34 after 3 days. He began with a 35th place in the pre-event Prologue and finished 43rd on the first day, then he leap-frogged seven positions to find the sweet spot of his bike to be placed 36th and sustained the same position today with 9 more stages to go. At this stage it is a right strategy as the goal is to finish and not try too hard to gain positions or risk losing momentum. “I started the stage with a lot of motivation today. It was a fast stage and the new bike started feeling really good and safe, so I am really happy with that. I am slowly building my confidence and if I can continue like this for the rest of the stages, I think I will be in a really good position by the time the rally finishes. So, today was a good start in the right direction for me,” said Santosh said on Monday after Stage 2 through a Social Media post. Astride a 450 Rally model Hero bike tuned by Factory Hero team, the Bangalore rider is taking part in the Bike category of G2.1 Super Production class. Santosh is sponsored by Red Bull, Hero, Sidvin, Genetic Nutrition, Scott, Big Rock dirt park, Dos moto design.
Harith Noah, the Sherco Factory team supported rider, who entered as a Privateer, is astride a Sherco Factory 450RTR tuned by Sherco TVS Rally Factory team, also entered in the same class as Santosh in Bikes G2.1 Super Production class. Though TVS has not sponsored him this year, assistance
is provided by Sherco TVS Rally Factory team. Noah is sponsored by TVS, Sherco, Scott India, Camelbak India.
What Harith Noah expects for the 2021Dakar? “Well finishing is the number one priority. I just want to ride as well as I can. The plan isn’t to compare myself to others. I know I’ll make mistakes but I’m ready for that,” the golden hair rider said before he left for Dakar. He was placed 43rd in the Prologue on the first day, a short distance initiation in the rally, and began the first stage with a stunning position of 31. The #33 number bike, a 450RTR, did extremely well to retain that slot consistently for three days in the overall ranking after over `15 hours of tough dune riding, with a focus on the finish. He finished Stage 1 in 31st place, Stage 2 in 32nd and delivered a superb run today with a 27th position in Stage 3. With nine more stages, the 27-year old from Shoranur in Kerala, who shifted to cross-country rally raid events in 2018 after becoming 2017 Indian Supercross National champion, is all focussed on the finish. He first won the National Supercross as a privateer in 2011 forcing TVS to recruit him in 2012. Noah who studied in a Kodaikanal boarding school began his motorsports career in 2009 as a 16 year old taking part in Dirt Track events in God’s Own Country. After his shift, he took part in Morocco rally in 2018 and finished 7th in Baja Aragon in 2019. He finished Dakar rally despite retiring in Stage 3 based on a new rule then, which allowed riders to completed the Dakar without ranking, in a special class called `Dakar Experience Category.’
Meanwhile, the third Indian in the fray, Ashish Raorane, albeit in a lower tier Marathon class, clocked 6 hours, 1min, 05seconds to finish 20th in his class among 27 bikers for an overall 84th place after three days and 81st placing in Stage 3 timings. It is a vast improvement in performance from 86 on Monday in both the overall and Stage positions. Ashish is astride a 450RTR KTM with Performance Tuning done by Bigrock Spain and assistance from Original by MOTUL. He is in the G2.2 Marathon class which is also called the Motul class which means that riders who have no assistance. The 39-year old knows that the Dakar is not a walk in the park but want to prove that ordinary bikers too can take part in big-time events. Ashish was inspired by Santosh, who became the first Indian to finish Dakar in 2015. The Mumbai based rider travels with his rider wife and took part in African Eco Race last year to prepare for Dakar this year. He was forced to start his Dakar on November 3 from Mumbai for an event that is starting on Jan 3 to get his bike to Saudi in the Covid times. So we at INDIAinF1 hope that his 3-month struggle will culminate in a debut finish at Dakar, the mecca of cross country rallying and Daddy of all rallies in the world. The toughest of them all!
Ashish Raorane’s dream of making adebut in the Dakar became a reality because of sponsors like Klim, Slipstream Performance, Dosmoto, Leatt, EBC Brakes, Gaerne, Hellraiser motorwear, Goodwill Enterprises. At INDIAinF1 we salute all the sponsors and provide as much publicity as possible in their endeavour to support the sport and the sportspersons.
Ahsish Raorane said: Stage 3 was really good today! I started off really well and was enjoying the dunes! The sand plateaus were extremely beautiful. But, after the dune sections it got rocky and I had a crash. Hurt my thumb a little bit but nothing major really. I was hoping to get some rest today as tomorrow is a really long day, but this oil leak happened so I got busy fixing that. Still have to do the rest of the bike before I sleep!
Provisional Results Stage Three – 2021 Dakar Rally
1. Toby Price (AUS), KTM, 3:33:23
2. Kevin Benavides (ARG), Honda, 3:36:39 +3:16
3. Matthias Walkner (AUT), KTM, 3:37:59 +4:36
INDIAN RIDERS
27. Harith Noah Koitha Veettil (privateer supported by TVS Racing, service by Sherco Factory) INDIA ; 450 RTR
31: CS Santosh (Hero MotoSport Team Rally ) 3hour, 56minutes and 41seconds,
Marathon – Original by Motul category
81. Ashish Raorane (Privateer) INDIA 450RTR KTM; 6hours; 1minute, 05sec.
In Marathon class:
20. Ashish Raorane (Privateer) INDIA 450RTR KTM; 6hours; 1minute, 05sec.
Provisional Standings (after stage three) – 2021 Dakar Rally
1. Skyler Howes (USA), KTM, 12:05:48
2. Xavier de Soultrait (FRA), Husqvarna, 12:06:16 +0:28
3. Toby Price (AUS), KTM, 12:06:40 +0:52
31. Harith Noah Koitha Veettil (privateer supported by TVS Racing, service by Sherco Factory) INDIA ; 450 RTR ; 13hr; 15.50.
34. CS Santosh, (Hero MotoSport ) INDIA 13:42:40.
84. Ashish Raorane (Privateer) INDIA 450RTR KTM; 20hours, 24minutes, 33sec. Bike number #82
