Harith Noah first Indian to win Dakar Rally stage

Stage 8 of the 2024 Dakar Rally just wrapped up and Harith Noah has set the fastest time in the Rally 2 class. With this, he becomes the first-ever Indian to win a Dakar stage.

1. Noah P13 overall
2. Branch P2 overall; 42 secs behind Brabec
3. Sainz leads cars category ahead of Loeb

Harith Noah wins in Rally 2 class

After battling some health issues in week one, TVS-backed Noah has been gaining momentum in the second week of Dakar 2024. The 48H Chrono Stage 6 saw him leapfrog to 13th place overall and he’s further cemented that position after another strong performance in Stage 8.

The Indian is competing in the Rally 2 class this year and he set the best class time in Stage 8, 1min 25secs clear of second-placed Jean-Loup Lepan. He’s now moved up to third place overall in the Rally 2 class, and he’s still holding onto 13th place in the general ranking.

Noah’s 20th place result in 2021 was the best-ever ranking achieved by an Indian at Dakar, and he’s now on course to improve on that.

“Felt good on the bike and my sickness is getting better too. I guess everything feels good when you do good,” Noah said, reflecting on his Stage 8 performance. “[I] focused on navigation and pushed when comfortable. Lost some time trying to find the way in the second part. Tomorrow is another day and the Dakar is far from over.”

Hero, Ross Branch hold on to P2

Following the retirements of Joaquim Rodrigues, Sebastian Buhler and Joan Barreda Bort, Hero MotoSports only has one rider competing in Dakar 2024. But Ross Branch has emerged as a leading challenger for the Dakar 2024 crown.

After finishing eighth in Stage 8, he’s lost some time to leader Ricky Brabec. But he’s still just 42 secs off the lead in second place overall.

“Today was a long one. It was a little bit risky this morning in the camel grass and in the dunes. But all in all, it was a good stage. We lost a little bit of time today, but nothing too serious. I tried to manage the whole stage and be in a good position for tomorrow,” said Branch.

Sainz extends cars lead

It was another strong day for Audi, with Mattias Ekstrom winning Stage 8 ahead of his teammate Stephane Peterhansel. But it’s another Audi driver who is leading the rally – Carlos Sainz.

A P4 finish in Stage 8 was enough for Sainz to add another six minutes to his lead. He’s now 24mins 47 secs ahead of Sebastien Loeb.

Also see:

‘15 is a nice number’: Harith Noah’s Dakar 2024 goals

Dakar 2024: Harith Noah in top 15 after Stage 6