Harith Noah to make Dakar Rally debut next year

Harith Noah is all set to become the third Indian rider to compete in the Dakar Rally, following in the footsteps of Aravind KP and CS Santosh. He’ll be part of the Sherco TVS Rally Factory Team’s rider squad for the 2020 edition of the event, which is scheduled to take place from January 5-17, 2020. The legendary rally will start a new chapter next year as it moves to Saudi Arabia, ending the event’s decade-long stint in South America.

Noah’s enjoyed a fair share of success in India with seven national Supercross championships to his name. He made his international rally debut with TVS earlier this year at the 2019 Baja Aragon, with an impressive overall ranking of 7th. Michael Metge, Lorenzo Santolino and Johnny Aubert will be his team-mates for this edition of the rally.

Indian rider and Dakar 2019 finisher, Aravind KP, has been part of the TVS Racing team since 2006. He sustained a leg injury during his practice session earlier in the year, due to which he will not be participating in the Dakar Rally 2020.

The Sherco TVS Rally Factory Team has had an impressive year with strong performances at all international events in 2019, including the Merzouga Rally, Desert Storm and Baja Aragon, and hopes to have a strong finish at Dakar 2020.

Commenting on the TVS Motorsports activities, Vinay Harne, president - New Product Introduction, TVS Motor Co, said: "Each time we win, the customer gets a better bike. Each time we lose, our R&D team gets valuable inputs."

TVS Racing was the first Indian manufacturer to participate in the Dakar and has been a part of the event since 2015.