Branch leaves solid mark at Dakar Rally
Kabelo Boranabi | Monday January 16, 2023 16:00
The rider failed to reach the finish line in his last two races but he has now completed three of his five appearances at the Dakar Rally. At this year’s edition held in Saudi Arabia, Branch finished 26th in the general ranking.
This is the furthest he has finished compared to a 13th place on his debut in 2019 and a 21st finish in his second appearance in 2020. However, this has been one of the best performances by the biker after he bettered his sole stage win by one with two stages victories at this year's edition, which concluded yesterday (Sunday). Branch had a promising start to the race as he sat inside the top 10 after the first three stages. He lost a large amount of time in stage four of the race due to mechanical issues.
In the process, the rider lost the leading pack by five hours and thus fell outside the top 50 on the day. However, his recovery was remarkable as he went on to win stage eight and 10 of the race.
On the final leg, Branch went on to finish in the 17th place. “Finally, we finished the Dakar Rally, it has been a long one and we had to work hard for it. We have two stage wins in the rally but we had bad luck in the first week but all in all it has been (an) incredible rally. It has been tough, really hard on us, hard on the bike.
The team has been incredible and the bike has been amazing, so (I am) really happy, we have taken a step in a good direction,” Branch said in a post race interview. He is now the Hero Motorsport Rally Team best athlete at the Dakar Rally with two stage wins. The Indian-based factory team has three stage wins at the competition. Branch will now set eyes on the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge to be held from February 25 to March 3, 2023.