Harith Noah

Harith Noah (born 29 January 1993 in Germany) is a professional motorsports athlete from Shoranur in Kerala, India. He represents India in international cross country rallies such as the Dakar Rally. He is also the third rider from India to finish Dakar rally successfully after C.S. Santosh and Aravind K.P. He is also the fastest from India. He took a historic victory for India in the Rally 2 category of Motorcycles at the 46th Dakar Rally on 19 January 2024 and finished in the overall top-11, to become the fastest from India at Dakar. Earlier, he bagged two stage wins in his class, the Rally 2.

Early life and education

Noah hails from Kullappully, Shoranur. He studied at KVR High School in Vaniamkulam till Class 7. Then he joined Sholai School, a boarding school in Kodaikanal in Tamil Nadu. His father, Mohammed Rafi Koitha Veettil is a businessman and his mother, Susanne, is an artiste and farmer. His mother is a German. He is a graduate of Manchester Metropolitan University with a bachelor's degree in Sports Science.

Early career

Noah started racing local dirt track events at the age of 16, in 2009. Later, in 2011 he started taking part in the National supercross championship. In 2012, he did a 3-month training course in US. He won the title the same year and was recruited by TVS Factory Racing in 2012.

Motorsport career

Domestic career

Noah is a 5-time Indian National Supercross champion. He raced and won his first National Supercross title in 2011 in the SX2 category as a privateer. He was recruited by TVS Racing in 2012. and won four more national championships in the years, 2012, 2014, 2017, and 2018.

Dakar

Noah won the Rally 2 category in bikes astride a 450SEF Rally at Dakar 2024.

Since 2018, he is taking part in cross-country rallies and made his debut at Dakar in 2020 and finished Dakar Rally in the 'Dakar Experience' Category. In 2021, he completed the Dakar Rally, rated as the world's toughest cross-country rally, and became the first cross-country rally-raid athlete representing India to have finished in the top-20. He is the fastest rider from India at Dakar with a highest ranking of P18 in a Dakar stage in 2022. He beat his own record of P19 which he set in 2021. He competed in four Dakar Rallies and is one of the four Indians to have taken part in Dakar. Earlier, he beat CS Santosh record of P34, finishing Dakar in P20 on 15 January 2021. Taking part in his third Dakar in 2022, he survived two falls and fractured ribs by Stage 9 and later completed the rally in Dakar Experience class. He entered as a privateer supported by TVS Racing factory team and was serviced by Sherco TVS Rally Factory team which has a tie-up with TVS Motor Company. He remains the best from India at Dakar with a record of 20th place. In 2023, he suffered a serious spinal injury, but fortunately for him, it was a stable T5 fracture, that healed through rest for over three months.

He trained at the Red Bull Athlete Performance Centre and then at USA preparing for his fifth Dakar which was held from 5 to 19 January 2024. At the half-way stage after finishing six stages, including the tough 48-hour Chrono stage, Noah is placed 13th in the overall general rankings for Bike category. He is placed third in the Rally2 class. He went on to win the Rally 2 category of Motorcycles at the 46th Dakar Rally.

International

Noah won his first international rally when he finished first in his class B1 (Bikes under 450cc) at TransAnatolia Rally which ran from 2 to 9 September 2023 in Turkey. He finished overall 4th. He then finished 15th at the Rallye du Maroc.

In 2018, he raced his first-ever international cross-country race, the Rallye Du Maroc. In 2019, he participated in Baja Aragon and finished 7th overall. In 2020,

In July 2022, Harith Noah competed in the FIM Baja Spain Aragon, the fourth round of the FIM Bajas World Cup and finished a creditable fourth behind his Sherco TVS Factory teammates Lorenzo Santolino and Rui Goncalves.

Charity run

Noah supports research related to spinal chord injuries. He took part in the Wings for Life World Run, a charity run organised by Wings for Life Foundation in 2022. He joined the Run again in 2023 at Mumbai and also roped in his friend Rahul KP, a national football player.

Awards

2024: Noah received the FMSCI Special Award at the Annual Awards gala 2023 held in Chennai on 21 February 2024.

References