Branch all but wins world title
Kabelo Boranabi | Friday October 11, 2024 07:58
He is Botswana's only competitor at the Morocco Rally that serves as the final round of the World Championship. Branch lined up ahead of the Morocco Rally in the lead of the W2RC standings with 72 points from the first four rounds and just nine ahead of American racer, Ricky Brabec, who has 63 points while Adrien van Beveren of France sits third with 56 points. Branch sat in the top three after finishing second in round one of the 2024 W2RC, the Dakar Rally and accumulated 30 points in January. The Jwaneng-lad went on to secure yet another second-place finish in the second round of the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge and bagged 20 points. It was a slower finish during the BP Ultimate Rally Raid in Portugal as he finished fifth and added 11 points. He added another 11 points with a fifth-place finish at the Desafio Ruta 40 in Argentina to take his season tally to 72 points.
In Morocco, Branch began his World Championship finale with a stage win in stage one of the race. He dropped to sixth place on stage two after losing just over 13 minutes and fell 11 minutes behind new stage leader Spaniard, Tosha Schareina. On stage three, the local biker moved into fourth place as he inched closer to becoming the first Motswana motorsport off-road champion. Yesterday, in stage four of the Morocco Rally, Branch finished sixth to keep his chances alive. Branch's chance has been boosted by the withdrawal of his closest competitor, Brabec, on stage one of the Morocco Rally. The American had an accident just less than 100km into the stage. He sought medical rescue, forcing him to let his chances at the World Championship title slip. The stage proved to be fatal as French rider, Frederic Baudry, died on stage one after crashing whilst he was riding in second position of the Morocco Rally. Van Beveren on the other hand is having a steady time on the bike as he sat fifth after stage three of the Morocco Rally.
The biker will not spoil Branch's shot at the World Championship regardless of which position he finishes in due to the overall points variation. Branch now has the World Championship fully in sight and will need just to complete the Morocco Rally, to bring home the first motorsport off-road championship title to Botswana, which will also be a first for his team, Hero Rally-Raid Team.