Harith Noah conquers another day, stays P13 in general ranking: Stage 9
Al Ula (Saudi Arabia), 16 January 2024: Sherco TVS Factory Rally team rider Harith Noah continued his quest for a second Dakar finish safely negotiating the brutal Stage 9 with a 436-km Special and managed to remain in the top-15 in the bikes class of the Dakar Rally 2024 on Tuesday. Three more days are left in the gruelling event which ends on Jan 19.
The 30-year Kerala rider finished the Overall general ranking after 12 days in 13th place after a P14 rank today. He also managed to ride safe and retain his third place in the Rally2 class with a P4 finish in Stage 9.
For this ninth day of racing, the riders set off from Ha’il towards Al Ula for a stage of 435 km. The start of the special was very fast with sandy tracks and it also had some mountains of sand. Navigation becomes complicated when you must guess the tracks rather than following them visually, and riding on rocky plateaus requires both confidence and technique to maintain an ideal pace.
The expedition back to Al Ula has surely brought back some memories. However, it was not a return to square one, because the situation has evolved considerably since the prologue. The return journey spared the competitors from the volcanic rocks, instead opting for the northern route from Al Duwadimi, which nevertheless shared some common ground with the previous visit. Over the majority of the 436-kilometre special, the riders, drivers and crews had to be doubly vigilant, by carefully riding or driving to avoid punctures on the rocky portions and then by paying extreme attention to reading the roadbook when faced with the wealth of tracks in front of them. Noah, who is strong in his navigation was able to adapt and retained his position in the top-15 riders.
Noah’s Sherco teammate, Rui Gonçalves finished 11th overall on the stage. “It was a strange day. The first part where I navigated alone went well. Then I rode with D Sanders and S Svitko. Like many, we wasted a lot of time trying to find the way.” said Harith Noah after the stage.
Tomorrow, the riders will set off for the tenth stage of the Dakar, from Al Ula to Al Ula, a total of 612 km including 371 km of special and 241 km of liaison.
