“Mistakes will happen. It’s about how you deal with them”
En bref
- When CS Santosh became the first Indian rider to finish the Dakar back in 2015, Harith Noah was still only 22 and riding dirt bikes in India. Little did he know that he too would make it to the World’s toughest rally.
- Born in Germany he had a rather long journey before taking on rallies. It started on his sixteenth birthday when he was given a motorbike. A weekend later, he was racing and although he finished last of that first race, his passion grew.
- It took Harith Noah two Dakar editions to learn and adapt before becoming the second Indian rider to reach the finish and not only did he achieve his dream he also managed the best ever performance for an Indian claiming an excellent 20th overall position in 2021.
- Part of the Sherco TVS Rally team then suffered some severe setbacks including the fracture of the fifth thoracic vertebrae (T5) of his spine. A very worrying crash that could have had terrible consequences.
- The wonderkid from Shoranur in Kerala returned even stronger and made history by finishing 11th in 2024 and winning the Rally 2 title.
- On the last Dakar, Noah’s journey stopped as soon as day one when he crashed and broke his wrist during the prologue. A real blow that he won’t forget especially after enjoying another decent season including two top 20 finishes at the Portuguese and Moroccan legs of W2RC. Once again, he’ll be registered in the Rally 2 class.
Ambition
H.N.: “The Dakar is a lot of different challenges. That’s why it’s so special. It’s not straightforward. In other sports like marathon running, you know what you’re up against. The weather might change, but the route is known. In Dakar, it’s super unplanned, you don’t know what’s coming, what’s around the hill, which way to go. You need physical fitness, good navigation, strong mental ability. Mistakes will happen. It’s about how you deal with them. It's all about not overthinking at that time.
It’s super hard mentally to go to Dakar and leave before it even starts due to injury. That’s not a nice feeling. I can’t change it once it has happened. Going forward, I will always focus on doing my best, not on results. The most important thing for me is giving my 100 percent and learning from my mistakes.
I don’t have the confidence to win it. Even when I won Rally 2, I never really thought I would do it. It was never my plan. Of course, I enjoyed the win and I really loved the 2024 Dakar performance. But for me, what matters is doing my best. Of course, winning the Dakar would be amazing. I want to keep doing my best and maybe go bigger than I have already. No one thought I’d win Rally 2 before 2024, but it happened. I believe greater things are possible, but a lot of things need to line up properly.”
It’s super hard mentally to go to Dakar and leave before it even starts due to injury. That’s not a nice feeling. I can’t change it once it has happened. Going forward, I will always focus on doing my best, not on results. The most important thing for me is giving my 100 percent and learning from my mistakes.
I don’t have the confidence to win it. Even when I won Rally 2, I never really thought I would do it. It was never my plan. Of course, I enjoyed the win and I really loved the 2024 Dakar performance. But for me, what matters is doing my best. Of course, winning the Dakar would be amazing. I want to keep doing my best and maybe go bigger than I have already. No one thought I’d win Rally 2 before 2024, but it happened. I believe greater things are possible, but a lot of things need to line up properly.”
