Harith Noah is an Indian professional motorcycle racer who competes in the Dakar Rally. He is the first Indian to finish the Dakar Rally in the top 20 and win in his respective class. Noah has also won the Indian National Supercross Championship five times.
In this telephonic interview, Harith Noah talks about his experiences racing in the Dakar Rally, his training regimen, and his goals for the future.
~CO.157~
In this telephonic interview, Harith Noah talks about his experiences racing in the Dakar Rally, his training regimen, and his goals for the future.
~CO.157~
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NewsTranscript
00:00 Hi Harit, how are you doing?
00:01 Yeah, hi, good. How are you?
00:03 Yeah, I'm doing good.
00:04 Congrats on your success and bringing the proud to India.
00:07 Hats off to you, man.
00:08 How was your journey in this, you know, like from your childhood till now,
00:14 you know, how fascinated you are in Dhaka?
00:16 I mean, I knew about the Dhaka when I was like five, around five.
00:20 I started watching cassettes.
00:22 My dad used to get every year one cassette.
00:24 I used to watch the cars and I liked the cars.
00:29 But I always thought I had to be 18 to join a race.
00:32 And then I think I grew older after a few years.
00:35 I don't know exactly what, like maybe seven, eight or ten.
00:38 I stopped thinking about, I mean, I didn't know Dhaka.
00:41 Like I just knew like this racing, the desert, I don't know, the name and stuff.
00:46 So then I grew older and I was really interested in cars too.
00:51 But like obviously I was studying and stuff.
00:53 And then there was a race happening down on the paddy fields near my house.
00:59 And I ended up taking part in the race because I watched them train a few days before the race.
01:06 And I was interested and my dad said, why don't you try?
01:09 I tried and I finished last.
01:12 And that's when I was like, OK, I want to try to do it more and try to get better.
01:16 And yeah, and then I kept getting better, I guess, and kept training.
01:22 And a few years later, I joined TVS Racing and won a few championships,
01:28 a massive championships with them.
01:30 And then they were the first manufacturer taking part in the Dhaka.
01:34 Then I saw an opportunity there.
01:37 I talked to them, you know, I can start doing some rallies.
01:41 And I did and I did not too bad.
01:45 And yeah, and then I did my first Dhaka.
01:47 And then I've been going for every Dhaka after that.
01:52 OK, great.
01:52 Since you mentioned the TVS, so I have two questions related to that.
01:57 When did you join with TVS and how is your association with TVS?
02:01 And how did it impact your career as well?
02:05 So I joined in 2012.
02:07 I was one of the riders to show the contract space.
02:10 And yeah, obviously, we started off easy and then we kept working together.
02:18 Now, obviously, I get all the support from them from, you know,
02:22 giving me whatever I need to get better.
02:24 And, you know, going for the Dhaka and trying to do our best there.
02:30 We feel like we are a team and, you know,
02:35 there's like if something goes wrong, everything goes wrong for us as a team.
02:40 And something goes right like this year, you know, everything goes right with us.
02:46 So I hope you faced a lot of challenges in this Dhaka current race.
02:50 What are the struggles you have faced?
02:52 So for me, the first day was really bad.
02:55 I had a really bad headache and I had cramps everywhere.
02:59 I think I was dehydrated.
03:00 I almost quit the first day.
03:03 OK.
03:04 Feeling really bad.
03:05 But I somehow managed to finish.
03:08 Then the rest of the week was OK.
03:10 Had some problems towards the end of the week with some fuel problems.
03:15 Like the sand in the fuel tank.
03:17 So we had some problems with the bike because of that.
03:22 And then, yeah, the last day of the first week, I got sick.
03:28 I got a cold and sore brain and for the whole second week, I was kind of sick.
03:33 But yeah, somehow managed to stay together and take it to the end.
03:40 Cool, cool.
03:42 So even though all the struggles, still you are the fastest guy in Dhaka.
03:46 That's off your mind.
03:47 What's your future plan in motorsports?
03:49 Like, you know, in the rally.
03:51 So right now you are in Rally 2.
03:54 So is there any, you know, aim to participate in Rally GP?
03:59 Yeah, so I actually was Rally GP till this Dhaka FU race.
04:03 I downgraded to Rally 2.
04:06 OK.
04:07 It's good to, you know, get a little extra motivation for myself to be better.
04:13 And I think it really worked and I think it was a perfect choice with me and my team.
04:19 And fast getting back to things, I will sit down with the team and discuss how we're going to go forward.
04:24 OK, so I have my last question.
04:28 What do you have to say to Indians who's looking to this motorsport like in the Dhaka?
04:34 I feel like if you're interested in it, for sure, like learn more about it,
04:38 put your heart into it, try your best.
04:41 A lot is possible.
04:42 OK, great.
04:44 Way more than what you can think.
04:45 Not everything is possible.
04:47 So, you know, just keep working hard and you'll get far and probably more far than you can think.
04:57 So, cool.
04:58 Wishing you all the very best for near future, you know.
05:03 I mean, championships and other stuff.
05:04 Thank you so much.
05:05 And thank you, TVGames, for giving us this opportunity.