A test of Harith Noah's limits in Dakar

Harith Noah was speeding through the ergs of Saudi Arabia earlier this month when a stone the “size of a fist” came flying from the bike in front, hitting him on his chest. Though in pain, the Indian rider not just completed the stage but also kept riding through the next few days in the Dakar Rally, not knowing that he had broken two of his ribs.

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“It was really unfortunate,” Noah, who celebrated his 29th birthday on Saturday, said. “I realised it two days later. I wasn’t sure why (it was paining) as I didn’t crash, there was no bruise. The chest dissipated the pressure so there was no blood clot. But it was hurting. After two days I checked it out and got to know about the fractures. But it didn’t move, it was in the same place.”

Noah decided to continue in his third Dakar, held from January 1-14, unless he suffered another crash which could have damaged his ribs further.

Falls, injuries, testing of physical limits—it is all part of the celebrated rally raid, considered the toughest endurance race in the world, having claimed several lives in the past. CS Santosh, the first Indian to compete in the rally back in 2015, suffered a life-threatening accident in 2021 from which he is yet to recover.

Hence, crashing a few times is considered usual. “I crashed 3-4 times. It is kind of normal to have a few tip overs but nothing big,” Noah said from his home in Shoranur, Kerala, where he returned earlier this week.

One of those crashes during Stage 4 of the 7,000km rally injured his right shoulder, making matters worse. “The shoulder hurt more (than the ribs). It was a big impact. I couldn’t even hold on to the bike at times. I had to let go or ride in a different way. It was difficult,” said the TVS rider, who last year registered the best ever finish by an Indian at the Dakar when he was classified 20th.

Since nothing was “broken or torn”, Noah’s mind fought against his body as the 29-year-old decided to carry on.

Broken ribs, injured shoulder, even a brake failure—during Stage 9—nothing could deter Noah’s spirit for the Dakar—considered the Everest for endurance rallyists—until a technical snag in the engine of his Sherco 450 bike cut short his journey. Noah, the only Indian at Dakar 2022, was ranked an incredible 27th after Stage 9 and was looking strong to finish his second consecutive rally until the mechanical issue.

“It is frustrating, really sad and unfortunate. Everyone works the whole year, not just me but also the team. Everybody puts in so much time and effort, just for this one race and when things go wrong… It is not what we want,” said Noah.

Participants wait and prepare for the entire year to compete and finish the two-week endurance race and to be taken out due to a mechanical failure is really frustrating. Significantly, the rules of the Dakar were changed this year after it came under the ambit of FIA and FIM—the world governing bodies for car and bike racing. The 44th edition of the Dakar was brought under the inaugural World Rally Raid Championship with the race in Saudi Arabia being the first event. Now, even if participants did not finish a stage, they would still be classified as finishers but will be hit with penalties.

With nothing to lose and thereby going in with the mindset of “having fun”, Noah regrouped himself and finished 18th and 23rd in the last two stages to finish under the Experience category. “One thing I learnt from the Dakar over the years is that you learn how to deal with disappointment,” said Noah, who was eventually classified 110th. “The Dakar experience, you can’t gain it through any kind of training.”

Noah is now further motivated to train harder and prepare for the next Dakar. But for now, he’ll recuperate (after a recent bout of Covid-19 in France), wait for his ribs to heal, enjoy appams and kadala curry at his home before riding into the horizon in his next rally.

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