Harith Noah 27th; Hero MotoSports solid at half-way mark; J-Rod, 8th;

Stage 6: Al Qaisumah to Ha’il (Saudi Arabia) 618km: 8 Jan 2021: Keralite Harith Noah kept the Indian flag flying as he not only completed another stage but moved up 35th in General Ranking delivering a solid 27th position in a tough 618-km Stage 6 from Riyadh to Al Qaisumah on Friday.

Taking part in his second Dakar, following his finish in Dakar Xperience Class in 2020, last January, the German born Indian, is fast becoming a top contender to be the third Indian to finish a Dakar rally in the footsteps of CS Santosh and teammate KP Aravind.

Harith, supported by sponsors TVS, Sherco, Scott India and Camelbak India entered as a privateer but with full support from Sherco and part support from TVS Racing, who moulded his career and provided him an op to realise the Dakar dream last year. The 26-year old, 5.8 feet tall rider is a sports science nut and despite a fall in Stage 5, where he lost considerable time and lack of sleep, he managed to gain positions and keep the fight on.

The other Indian in the field is Mumbai Mariner Ashish Raorane, whose struggles began three months earlier, even before the Dakar began as he has to assist himself. But the Man with a solid will, like any mariner who conquers the sea, he prepared with grit and determination and believes in “Self Help is the Best Help”. No Assistance from anyone, not enough money to hire a team, nor to get all the equipment, still the dream continues. He dares to dream and by registering for the G2.2 Marathon class, popularly known as Malle Moto, he is halfway through achieving his goal, To FINISH DAKAR on DEBUT! Malle is nothing but `BOX’ in French language. No wonder Ashish carries his own box, that contains tools, one set of extra tyres and other paraphernalia that is allowed according to rules. In this class, he cannot take any assistance from others, and while all other competitors are sleeping after the stage, you can find Ashsish struggling to do the mechanic job, repairing his KTM 450RR’s `leaking tube’ or assisting a fellow competitor. Unlike any other class, the camaraderie in this Malle group is balle, balle' . You help me, I help you’, attitude as only riders can touch their bikes builds team spirits and help them fight the dunes rather than themselves like other motorsports events. That is the special nature of Dakar, the mother of all motorsports cross country events.

In the first place, it is like piloting a plane after entering the cockpit for only the second time. Yes, his only preparation for Dakar and similar experience is last years Africa Eco race which he completed against all odds.

Pooling in different sponsors like Klim, Slipstream Performance, Dosmoto, Leatt, EBC Brakes, Gaerne, Hellraiser motorwear and Goodwill Enterprises, he did his own marketing and managed to go after his dream, with the support of his biker wife and a few friends. If any Indian corporate sponsor ever has an ear, sponsor him and you will mint gold in terms of publicity for your brand. Trust us, we have seen this die hard motorsport nut!

The KTM biker on a 450RR model has a performance tuner in Bigrock Spain, the only thing that is a necessity and he has done it. With only `Assistance'' coming from Original by Motul, provided by the organisers to 9 bikers in his class, Ashish is pushing on, and we at INDIAinF1 assure him that the whole motorsports fraternity is behind him. Go for it, Ashish! We are proud of you!

For the record, Ashish clocked 72 hours, 14 minutes and 33 seconds, which means that after almost completing all the competitive sections he was held up. INDIAinF1 is yet to get confirmation, but the Mumbaikar finished the stage is a big relief, just like Stage 5. Astride a No.#82 KTM, he took 85th position for an overall General Ranking of 81, the last man still hanging on to Dakar dream. Already more than 25 riders dropped out. However, the Dakar Rookie is 6th among the rookies and 24th in the Malle Moto class and is one among the 9 of them supported by `Original by Motul’ . (Editor’s note 9 Jan 2021: Later, Ashish was hospitalised. He had a fall, got up and continued. But due to a headache, he called for medical help and was hospitalised, according to late news from Dakar sources.

In Stage 6, he finished 23rd in his class Malle Moto, the G2.2 Marathon class. Now for a well-deserved REST? No not at all, Dreams don’t come in sleep, they give sleepless nightmares until the dream is achieved, yes, Ashish is in that State right now, and it is WORK in PROGRESS! Power to #AR2Dakar

ONLY INDIAN TEAM – Hero MotoSports

The only Indian team left after the tough outing of Thursday, is Hero MotoSports. Joaquim Rodrigues, popularly known as J-Rod, struck form once again and achieved an 8th place finish in the stage. Sebastian Buhler continued to hold his position steady with a 21st place finish for the only Indian team at Dakar Rally 2021, the mother of cross country rallies and the toughest in the world. Hero MotoSports Team Rally fielded one Indian and two other riders as part of their Mission Dakar 2021 campaign. Ace Indian rider and first to complete a Dakar, CS Santosh, in his seventh Dakar, crashed in the 5th stage and is currently hospitalised and is said to be stable. Joaquim Rodriques and Sebastian Buhler are the other members o Hero team that are keeping the flag flying.

With this steady run onFriday, Hero MotoSports Team Rally finds its riders in good positions at the halfway mark with JRod at the 17th position and Sebastian Buhler just shy of the Top 20 at 21st position in the overall rankings.

Considering the difficult Stage 5 that led to several competitors arriving in the bivouac very late in the evening, the organizers earlier today decided to shorten Stage 6 by 100 kms and also deferred the start by almost 90 minutes. However, the stage still challenged the competitors with 348 kms of special, featuring dunes of all shapes and colors, which proved physically demanding on the competitors.

REST DAY on Jan 9

The participants will enjoy a well-deserved rest day tomorrow, giving them time to recover from the onslaught of a tough first half of the rally and reassess their strategy for the next half.

Wolfgang Fischer says; “The participants will enjoy a well-deserved rest day tomorrow, giving them time to recover from the onslaught of a tough first half of the rally and reassess their strategy for the next half.”

Joaquim Rodriques says: “It was a difficult stage today. It was all sand and dunes, so physically it was very demanding, and yet I was able to put in a good run and bring my Hero bike to the finish line. The bike has been performing really well and has been helping me to achieve these results. I thank Team Hero for providing us this great bike. It makes a big difference to have a really good and reliable bike in this kind of a terrain. It feels so good to finish the first week and I am looking forward to the rest day tomorrow.”

Sebastian Buhler says: “Very hard stage today with riding all day in the sands. It was like 300 odd kms of motocross stage with not much of navigation, so it was very tough on the body. It’s good that we have a rest day tomorrow so we can recover a bit. The bike is performing very well, and I am happy to arrive at the half-way mark of the rally with no injuries and my bike in a very good condition.”

Provisional Standings: After Stage 6

Overall Standings after Stage 6