In his debut season, Branch finished 10th overall and bagged a round win at the Kazakhstan Rally. In this campaign and with just a round to go, Branch currently lingers in 15th position on the championship rankings after three rounds of racing. He has accumulated just 11 points from the first three rounds and is miles behind the leader Sam Sunderland.
The Dubai-based British rider leads the pack with 74 points. There was a tweak in this year’s Championship as the Dakar Rally was included as round one. The Dakar Rally carried double points and Branch was unfortunate not to finish the 10-daylong event due to a crash. He recovered well for the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge in round two held early March as he accumulated just three points after a 13th-place finish. The biker boosted a stage win in the next round. Branch returned to action recently after six months in the dunes of Morocco for the Rally du Maroc.
The five-stage rally formed round three of the World Championship following the cancellation of the Kazakhstan Rally that was to be held in late March. In familiar territory, Branch looked in good spirits in the North African state. The Kalahari Ferrari bagged a stage win on day one but went to finish 12th in stage two. A charge of resurgence was on in stage three as Branch managed a podium finish of third and fourth place finish in stage four to move up the rankings ahead of the final day. He went on to finish seventh on stage five while taking eighth place in the overall standings.
The results brought Branch up to two places up for the 15th spot in the overall standings. He will be heading to Spain next week for the fourth round of the World Championship at the Andalucia Rally.
The event to be held from October 18-23 will be a final major race preparation before the Dakar Rally 2023 that takes place in January.
