Indian rally rider Harith Noah was forced to withdraw from the South African Rally of Safari, Round 3 of the FIA-FIM 2025 World Rally Championship (W2RC), after an accident at the start of phase 1. Harith met with a slide, he crashed, which made it possible to make a significant sweetness. He got up and showed resilience, up 20 kilometers more before withdrawing due to the loss of the strength of the adhesion and the pain of the fall. Harith had taken a good start to the rally, finishing 5th at the Rallye 2 prologue stadium with a calendar of 7: 44.1, marking his return to the raid after having an exit led by injuries to the Dakar rally, earlier in January which required surgery at its wrist.
“Fortunately, this is not the wrist that was injured this time. There was a lot of swelling in my right hand, and I simply did not have the strength to hold the bicycle and to roll, which forced me to stop,” said Harith in South Africa.
“We do not know exactly what is the problem, but nothing seems to be broken, which is a good sign. I will get an MRI today to check any additional damage,” he said.
Noah, who goes up for the Sherco TVS Rally Factory team, hopes a quick recovery and aims to return in time for the Baja Espana Aragon 2025 in Spain, scheduled from July 25 to 27.
“The important thing is that we are safe. Even if it was only two days of driving, I learned a lot and I have the impression of having acquired a precious experience. I certainly know what can be done, and I know that I will be back. I hope it is only a step back to take a step bigger,” finished Harith with confidence.
The 2025 W2RC season has five laps on three continents, pushing cyclists through a wide range of land and conditions. The year started with the legendary Dakar rally in Saudi Arabia, followed by the challenge of the Abu Dhabi desert.
Now, the championship is heading for a territory Uncharted with the beginnings of the South African Rally of Safari. The last two laps will take the runners in Portugal to the raid of the BP Ultimate Rally in September, before culminating with the emblematic Rallye du Maroc in October.
(With the exception of the title, this story has not been published by NDTV staff and is published from a unionized flow.)
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