It’s quite apt that I attended my first-ever Dakar Rally at the behest of TVS, and it was quite something to watch the Sherco TVS Rally Factory Team take on the 42nd edition of the toughest rally in the world, if only for the last two days of the event. This time around, the rally went from Jeddah to Riyadh before ending in Al Qiddiya, covering a distance of almost 8000 km of which 5000 km were special stages and rest were transport ones. Total distance was up by 3000 km compared to the previous Dakar in South America.
An event of this magnitude is rarely without its tragedies, and this year saw the deaths of Paulo Goncalves of Hero MotoSports Team Rally and Edwin Straver, a rider in the Originals by Motul class (previously called Malle Moto) in which riders take on the Dakar all by themselves — no support staff, no nothing, just the rider, his bike and some tools. As with practically everywhere in the world, motorcycle riders face the greatest risks, and to face them alone in the Dakar is nothing short of heroic magnificence.
It’s quite apt that I attended my first-ever Dakar Rally at the behest of TVS, and it was quite something to watch the Sherco TVS Rally Factory Team take on the 42nd edition of the toughest rally in the world, if only for the last two days of the event. This time around, the rally went from Jeddah to Riyadh before ending in Al Qiddiya, covering a distance of almost 8000 km of which 5000 km were special stages and rest were transport ones. Total distance was up by 3000 km compared to the previous Dakar in South America. An event of this magnitude is rarely without its tragedies, and this year saw the deaths of Paulo Goncalves of Hero MotoSports Team Rally and Edwin Straver, a rider in the Originals by Motul class (previously called Malle Moto) in which riders take on the Dakar all by themselves — no support staff, no nothing, just the rider, his bike and some tools. As with practically everywhere in the world, motorcycle riders face the greatest risks, and to face them alone in the Dakar is nothing short of heroic magnificence.
The Sherco TVS Rally Factory Team fielded four riders; Adrien Metge and Johnny Aubert from France, Lorenzo Santolino from Spain, and last but definitely not least, Harith Noah from India who was a Dakar rookie this year. Only Metge finished the rally with an official position, in 12th place. And Noah was the only other TVS rider to finish at all, since Aubert and Santolino both dropped out with injuries. Speaking to Noah, it was clear that he was having the time of his life.
Speaking to the team, it was even more clear that Noah was making great progress on a daily basis and had made an impression on the team. Not bad for a first-timer at all. However, both Metge and Noah noted that though the route was great for the first week, it essentially turned into a game of Who’s Craziest in the second week. You see, the second week was essentially full of dunes — and that’s not the problem, these guys have spent more time on dunes than in their bedrooms — but ever so often there was absolutely nothing on the other side of the dunes. Which is how many guys crashed, and that had a knock-on effect on everyone else. Something for the organisers to consider, then. Hopefully, next year will be better.
