India’s leading rally-raid rider Harith Noah is set to begin his seventh campaign at the Dakar Rally, as he represents the country at the 48th edition of the world’s toughest motorsport challenge from January 3 to 17.
The 32-year-old rider from Kerala will line up once again in Saudi Arabia, where the rally opens with a short prologue in Yanbu on January 3 to determine the starting order for the main stages. The competition will then unfold over two demanding weeks before concluding on the Red Sea coast on January 17. The route covers nearly 8,000 kilometres, including around 4,800 kilometres of timed selective sections across dunes, rocky terrain and harsh plateaus. A single rest day is scheduled in Riyadh on January 10.
A five-time Indian National Supercross Champion, Noah last won a national title in 2018 before committing fully to rally-raid racing the following year. He made his Dakar debut in 2020, when the event shifted permanently to Saudi Arabia. Astride the TVS Sherco RTR 450, Noah will once again carry the Indian flag in the elite field.
In the build-up to the 2026 Dakar Rally, Noah competed in three World Rally-Raid Championship events in 2025, focusing on improving fitness, navigation accuracy and race execution. His Rally 2 class victory at Dakar, the first-ever by an Indian rider, remains a defining milestone for Indian motorsport.
Dakar’s unforgiving nature was evident last year when a crash during the prologue forced Noah to withdraw before the opening stage. Reflecting on the setback, the rider said his focus remains on learning and progress rather than results.
“Mistakes will happen. It’s about how you deal with them. It’s extremely hard mentally to go to Dakar and have it end before it even begins due to injury. That’s not a nice feeling. But I can’t change what has already happened. Going forward, my focus is always on giving my best rather than chasing results. Giving 100 percent and learning from mistakes is what matters most,” said Noah, a sports science graduate from Manchester Metropolitan University.
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