“As long as I’m satisfied with my effort, the result doesn’t matter as much,” Sherco TVS Rally Factory’s Harith Noah on his evolving rally journey ahead of the 2025 Dakar

Harith Noah, the rising star of the Sherco TVS Rally Factory Team, has been making significant strides in the world of rally racing. With standout performances in the 2024 season, including multiple stage wins, Noah has shown he’s ready to compete with the best in the sport. In an exclusive interview with evo India, he opened up about his preparations for the 2025 Dakar Rally, the challenges he faced during the 2024 season, and how his focus has shifted from just physical fitness to honing his riding skills and navigation. Despite a slow start in rallies like 2024 Dakar and Rallye du Maroc, Noah’s consistent performance and breakthrough moments – such as leading stages against top competitors – have strengthened his belief in his abilities. We also talk about his training, and what he expects from the 2025 season.

As told to Mohit Vashisth

Mohit Vashisth (MV): You had a very good season starting from Dakar, but the prologues weren’t so good. Do you feel the same way?

Harith Noah (HN): Generally, when I start the race – even the Dakar for example – I think the first week, including the prologue, it's like I’m running a gear slower or something. I just need time to feel comfortable. I don’t know why it’s like that. It’s a bit like that when I train, too. One reason might be that we don’t ride the race bike much during training. I train on different bikes and then race on another bike, so there’s always a bit of time needed to get used to it. I guess it's subjective. Some people can jump on any bike or into any car and immediately go fast, but for me, it always takes a little more time. I’ve tried to work on it, but I don’t put too much pressure on myself because, like I said, in Dakar 2024 it worked out fine. So, I expect the prologue and the first few days not to be great. Obviously, I’d love it to be as good as the second week right from the start, but that’s just how it goes.

MV: In Rallye du Maroc as well, the prologue might not have been great, but you showed consistent performance from there and improved with every stage. What was your strategy?

HN: In Rallye du Maroc, aside from the fact that I’m a slow starter, I had a few complications. One issue was my starting number – 54. I really don’t know why I got that number because the prologue’s start order is based on your number and goes in reverse. So, I started with some riders who weren’t very fast and they were in front of me. It was a 20-some-kilometre prologue and two or three kilometres into the prologue, I was in their dust, so I couldn’t ride at my pace. It was too risky to push in the dust, so I was almost just cruising through the whole prologue. That’s one reason it didn’t go well.

The first stage was also impacted because I started behind riders I’m usually faster than. Combined with the fact that I’m a slow starter, the first two or three stages were slow for me. But by stages four and five, things changed. Stages four and five were eye-openers for me in terms of what I want to do with my career. At Dakar, I had won the Rally 2 class, but more than that, on Stage 10, I led the stage overall until the last 30 kilometres. It was like a dream come true, and I couldn’t believe it for a long time. Then, at Rallye du Maroc, finishing in the top five overall – not just in Rally 2 – was a huge confidence boost. It gave me the feeling that I belonged there with the top riders. 

Strategy-wise, I haven’t changed much. It’s tough not to think about past results, like winning Rally 2 or performing well in Dakar and Rallye du Maroc, but my approach is still to ride one kilometre at a time. I focus on giving my best every kilometre. As long as I’m satisfied with my effort, the result doesn’t matter as much. I’m sure I’ll give my all, and that’s all that counts.

MV: In stages four and five of the Rallye du Maroc, you seemed to break into the lead usually dominated by KTM and other top European brands. Do you see that as a milestone?

HN: For sure. Stage 10 at Dakar was a milestone for me when I finished fifth, even though I was leading until the last 30 kilometres. It felt like maybe it was just luck or a one-time thing. Then, at Rallye du Maroc, the two stages were funny because going into Stage 4, I knew it was a lot of navigation and in a new area where we hadn’t raced before. The tracks were fresh, not bumpy or full of holes like other tracks in Morocco. Morocco has had races for so many years, from the Paris-Dakar to now, so a lot of the tracks are destroyed, with holes and rocks everywhere. I’m not great at that stuff, but when the tracks are fresh, I feel much more comfortable. I told myself before Stage 4 that it would be a good stage for me if I stayed on the right path, and I ended up finishing fourth. So that was a big step in the right direction. I also won a stage in Turkey as well this year, but that wasn’t as big a deal as finishing fourth in Morocco and then fifth the next day, against all the teams and riders that compete in Dakar. It was definitely a good feeling.

MV: How was Rallye du Maroc for you overall?

HN: It was good. I was really sad in the beginning with the number and everything because I wanted to do my best, but I couldn’t because of the dust in the prologue. It was frustrating. But I tried to move on and just do my best every day after that. Even in the prologue, I did the best I could under the circumstances. Towards the end, I was super happy to have finished on such a strong note. Being the last race before Dakar, it’s really important to end on a high.

MV: How tough are the liaison stages before the special stages?

HN: I think it depends on the rider. For me, I have a little difficulty waking up early – I think everyone does – but once I’m up, I don’t mind the long liaisons. Sometimes I try to listen to music, like in Dakar, with AirPods. It helps me get into the groove as I ride to the start. So, for me, it’s okay. Sometimes it gets really cold in Dakar, but after the first one in Saudi, I got a lot of gear to keep warm. You can get heaters from Decathlon, and we wear ski monosuits for negative temperatures, so it’s not too bad. I also have heated gloves from AlpineStars, so the cold isn’t a big issue anymore. But sometimes the liaisons are really long. Last year, there was one that was 500 or 600 kilometres long in the morning. The longer the liaison, the earlier you have to wake up because the stages usually start around 7:30 or 8:00 AM. If it’s a 100km liaison, you can wake up at 6:00 AM, but if it’s 300 kilometres, you have to get up at 4:00 AM. So, the morning liaisons are usually okay, but the ones after the stage can feel long because you’re tired and just want to get back to the bivouac.

MV: During the off-season, you mentioned that fitness is a big focus for you. How are you preparing for Dakar over the winter?

HN: Yeah, training continues. For me, it’s more of a lifestyle. If I don’t train for two or three days, I feel strange, so I prefer to go for a run or do something, even if I’m on holiday. Fitness has always been my strong suit. I believe, as someone who started riding much later than the other top riders, I have a lot of catching up to do when it comes to riding. Fitness is one area where I know I can be as fit as them, or maybe even fitter.

I also enjoy fitness, and I’ve studied it, so I do my own training. Now, as a Red Bull athlete, I can go to the Athlete Performance Center, which is really helpful because it gives me more data. I’ve been working with them for two or three years now, so we have data to compare from year to year. We can see if I was as fit as I was last year before Dakar if I was heavier or lighter, stronger or weaker. It’s really nice to have that information. I don’t think small differences in fitness make a huge difference in performance, but at this level, everything matters – especially if I finish in the top five, for sure it’s not because of pure speed but a combination of good navigation, fitness, and everything working in the right way. So for me, maybe more than others, it’s important that everything is as good as it can be. So, being physically fit and having things in order – everything matters. 

Yeah, throughout the year, I do my training, which I like a lot, and focus on fitness and strength. I just bought a ski erg. I used it yesterday for the first time, a little late, but it’s pretty good. I used it at APC too, so it’s cool. And obviously, with TVS Racing backing, I will go to train in the USA. I go train with Mason (Klein); he’s a really good friend of mine. He’s also racing this year, hopefully, everything works out for him. He’s with the Kove team again, so yeah, we’re going to Saudi on the 28th.

MV: Do you regularly drink Red Bull and how does it help you?

HN: Sometimes, yes. I had one today. It helps me feel more awake. Today, for example, I just got back from Morocco, where I was training for over a week, doing roadbooks every day. I travelled during the day, didn’t train one day, and then the next day, I did a 120km bike ride. Today was the third day, and I didn’t sleep well, so I had a Red Bull after training. Generally, I have one or two a week, but I make sure everyone who comes to my place gets one.

MV: What are you doing differently for the upcoming Dakar compared to last year?

HN: This year, like last year, I’ve focused a lot more on riding than fitness. Before that, I used to train a lot physically because I enjoyed it, but then I realised I needed to work on the things I wasn’t good at, not just what I liked. Riding is where I needed to improve, so I’ve tried to ride as much as possible in different places. The downside is that all the travel and organisation leaves less time for actual riding. Ideally, if you could stay in one place with a gym, bikes, and the desert around you, it would be better than travelling somewhere or driving for two hours just to ride. But I’ve definitely spent more hours on the rally bike and done more roadblocks compared to last year. 

Last year, I broke my back at Dakar and then broke my wrist, so half the year was spent recovering, getting my fitness back, and then slowly starting to ride again. This year, I’ve had no injuries, thank God, so I’ve had much more time for training and riding.

MV: How much time have you spent on the bike this winter?

HN: We had two sessions in Morocco with the team, both about seven days long. The first was in November and the second just finished in December. That was great – seven days of doing roadbooks and working on navigation. In December, we also did some suspension testing, switching to KYB forks this year, which has been a positive change.

MV: Do you still train using the PlayStation?

HN: Yeah, actually, my PlayStation 4 stopped working this year. I tried fixing it, but it didn’t work, so I got a PlayStation 5 about a month ago. My goal is to do one stage every day – one stage of that is like 10 minutes of an actual road book, but at least it keeps your brain working in that way. 

MV: How are you feeling about the end of the year? You seem more relaxed now. Do you feel differently, especially after such a good year?

HN: The year has been good. It’s always nice to have a year without injuries. In this sport, anything can go wrong at any time, and it can go wrong badly. Just coming back from a seven-day training session in Morocco with no issues is a relief because there are always close calls. After all, you are riding through the unknown as fast as you can. Rally riding is different from riding on a closed circuit where you know what to expect. 

Dakar was also great – finishing in the top five in two stages, with the results showing how close I was to the top. In stage four, I was running third, under 30 seconds behind second place. Then I got lost toward the end and dropped to fourth, but I’m happy with the top-five finish. But I think that however good the year was, I know there’s always room for improvement, and that’s what drives me. But that doesn’t mean I’m not satisfied. I definitely appreciated all the successes of this year. But now, it’s a new Dakar, and last year is just a memory. We’re here to do our best, one kilometre at a time.

MV: What are your expectations for Dakar this year?

HN: As always, I don’t have any expectations. I just want to do my best. If that gets me a top 10, top 15, or even top 20, I’ll be happy. If it’s top 3, top 5, or top 10 in Rally 2, I’ll be happy. As long as I’ve given it my all, I’ll be satisfied. I wanna enter it the same as I did last year.

MV: What do we know about the upcoming Dakar?

HN: I haven’t really looked into the details yet. I know there’s a marathon stage and a 48-hour stage in the first week, which makes it harder than last year, and that 48-hour stage is on rough terrain, not sand, which will be physically challenging. The second week should be more focused on sand, but I haven’t looked at the specifics.

MV: Are you competing in Rally 2 or Rally GP?

HN: Rally 2. I moved from Rally GP to Rally 2 last year, and I’m staying there for now. I think it’s been a good move for my confidence and results. For now, I’ll stick with Rally 2, but we’ll see about the future.