"I keep telling myself try to ride one km at a time. Ride in the moment and not really think about the results,” says Harith Noah

Harith Noah, Dakar Rally racer, won the Stage 2 class last year in Dakar’24. This year, his stint ended early with a crash in the prologue. In an exclusive interview with evo India, Harith Noah opens up about prepping for Dakar ‘25, the rally-ending crash, and how he is recovering now. With his sights set on a strong comeback, he shares how the Dakar has shaped him as a racer and a person, and why the fire to compete burns brighter than ever.

On Harith Noah’s mindset going into Dakar 2024, especially after ending last year with a high?

Harith Noah: “I tried to be similar to the year before. So basically just, you know, try to do my best. And what I keep telling myself is try to ride one kilometer at a time. Like kind of ride in the moment and not really think about the results. So that was the goal of the whole Dakar like this year. But obviously like getting into a Dakar or any rally more than the Dakar because it's bigger, there's always a little bit of excitement and not stress, but like a little bit of uncertainty, especially in the beginning. Always takes a little while for me to get used to the bike and stuff at any kind of race.”

Harith Noah will hopefully be back on the bike, by the end of February

On last year’s win, and if that changed anything for him, whether in terms of pressure, expectations, preparation or confidence?

HN: “In Rally 2 more than the win, what changed a lot for me was stage 10. The stage I was leading till the last 30 kms in overall. And that really opened my eyes, because I never in my wildest dream thought that I could lead almost from the beginning to the last 30 kilometers.Then I lost it in the last 30, but that changed a lot for me. And then in Rally Morocco, which was another desert rally that I took part in during the year, because the other one that I took part in is in Portugal. But that was a little, that's not desert. So it's a little different. The riding style and stuff. So then the other rally I took part in was Rally Morocco, which is the final round of the World Championship, where almost everybody who is at the Dakar is also there. So there I got top five again, two times in two stages back to back. So that kind of reassured me that it's really possible, you know. And on a result note, those two results combined with the stage 10 kind of made me realize maybe I can really pull off a win someday or, you know, get to the top someday.”

On the crucial moments during his crash, and what exactly happened in the prologue that led to the crash?

HN: Leading up to the race, I was a bit more stressed than usual due to some organizational stuff, but I don’t think that affected my riding. Like always, it took some time to connect with the bike since I don’t ride it year-round. Like any race, I didn't feel super connected with the bike in the beginning. But that is kind of almost what I would say usually because I don't ride the bike year round. And I take time to get used to a bike. So that was expected. I actually, normally I generally expect a little arm pump. That's when the forearms get tight. But that didn't happen. So that was a good sign like when I started. Everything was going alright. And then there was like a step. I would say it's like a step but made up of soil. There are many in the race from water flowing or something like that. And I hit it. I saw lines going there. It was off track a little bit. And I saw some bikes had already gone over it, because you can see the lines. And I saw it. I anticipated. What happens generally is the bike kicks you, the rear suspension kind of kicks you a little bit. So you kind of move your body back a little and give it a little extra gas just as you take off. But I don't know why it just kicked me really strongly. I didn't expect it to kick me so much. So I went nose down, kind of nose wheelie a little bit and then over the bars pretty quickly. And I got back up. I looked at the bike, took the bike immediately, and continued. I started feeling pain in my shoulder and my wrist a little. And then it increased a little. I thought it's some pretty strong injury. But it'll just be two days of pain and then it'll settle down. Sometimes it happens during the race. The pain increased a little, but not like non-rideable. And then I finished the prologue and then there was a 30km liaison on the road to the bivouac. And when I was riding on that liaison, that's when the pain really, really increased drastically. And when I reached the bivouac, I was starting to think maybe it's pretty serious. So I wanted to go to the medics. So I parked the bike and I walked to the medics and I removed my gloves and it was pretty swollen. And the bone was like pushing out a little, not out of the skin yet. But I could see a little bluish. And then we did an x-ray and it was broken. So, yeah, that was it. I was pretty quick. Then I came back and what I found out later, like, is that I like hit my shoulder, hit my head. Like the helmet peak, everything broke. But on my hand, I broke my fourth metacarpal. That's the wrist, but it's the finger that's connecting to the wrist. So I didn't have any scratches or bruises on my hand. Normally, if you put your hand down on the floor or anywhere in a crash like that, you at least have some bruises or some scratches. The glove normally tears pretty quickly. But I had nothing. And then I kind of thought, like, I think, I mean, I cannot confirm, but I wore a Whoop, which is a health monitor. So I think it hit somewhere on the bike or on the floor and it slid down the wrist and hit my kind of that area where it broke pretty hard. And I think it pushed the bone to break or something like that. And that thing was full of mud, like it hit somewhere pretty hard.

On ending his Dakar’25 journey even before it began?

HN: “It was pretty tough. But like I said, it happened so fast, like getting there, starting the race and getting out. One time, two years ago, in Dakar’23, I had a crash and broke my back. But that was after stage four. That felt a little more heavier because I feel like I was there for longer, you know. This, in the beginning, in the beginning, the first day almost, it felt not too bad. But then after that, you know, it started feeling pretty bad.”

On his treatment in Saudi and then in India, what all he went through, and what all he hurt in his body?

HN: “So I had pain in my shoulder. But then the fracture was the main thing and the shoulder was not paining incredibly. So after doing the x-ray at the Dakar’s medics, I went back and I just wanted to get back home as fast as possible. So I contacted my doctor in India. I told him, sent him the x-ray, and he said, I need surgery. And I also asked a few doctors there and they also thought surgery is better. So I tried to book a flight. I got a flight to Riyadh and then from Riyadh to Cochin directly. I pretty much just came back with one hand. The next morning I got the surgery done and they put a K wire. And then later after one week, I started running and then my shoulder started paining again. So we did an MRI there and nothing too bad, but just some kind of little pulls and stuff.”

On his return to motorsport, and if he’s targeting any events for his return?

HN: “Dakar obviously is there. It feels far, but it will be right around the corner. And I will be back on the bike hopefully at the end of February. So there is Rally Morocco, before that there is Portugal again. Portugal is a rally, but it's, I would say it's really different. There's not really navigation. It's all closed. It's a little bit like WRC, like all closed tracks. And before Portugal, there is a first time this year, the world championship. It's in South Africa. There's one round, but they haven't decided yet. So we'll decide soon.”

On how Dakar has shaped him as a racer and a person?

HN: “Yeah, I think it's like every race you learn, you never stop learning. So there's always something to learn from, from many people, like fast guys, slow guys. So that's really something that I came to understand. I'm getting better at just focusing on what I have to do. A smaller race, like Supercross or 100m sprint or something is very short and you can look at the other people and manage your race accordingly. But Dakar is so long, and so many days, and so much can happen. So, if you do your best, I think that would be better, at least for me. And that's how it works. But all the support from TVS, Red Bull, Rhinox and Reece Price, that definitely also improved over the years, which helps me a lot to kind of relax and do things, try to change things, and try different things.”