Ross Branch secured second place in the Dakar 2024 this Friday, just behind Ricky Brabec (Hero MotoSports). The Hero MotoSports rider finished ninth in the 12th and final stage, and overall finished 10m53s behind the American who was the winner.
The Botswana pilot told the official event website: ‘I feel on top of the world. It was a really long rally, probably one of the toughest I’ve ever done. Hats off to Ricky, he had a remarkable race. It was very close until two days ago when he attacked a lot and gained some margin over me. It was amazing. It’s so good to compete with these guys, it’s good to be here. I’m so happy for the team, they deserve to be happy because they worked hard, and for such a young team it’s a great result. I’m super happy to be here’.
About Hero MotoSports’ first podium in the Dakar, Branch commented: ‘It has been a goal since the team started and they have worked so hard to achieve it. I’m the lucky one. I go on the road and ride my bike and have fun. They have to do all the hard work at home with all the bike development and everything. And I’m just really happy and proud of them. I’m super happy for them as a team and as a country for being here’.
When asked what he needs to improve to achieve victory, the runner-up of Dakar 2024 said: ‘Definitely on the camel grass. I felt like we lost a lot in those two days, but I just have to go home and work on myself, it’s just me. Ricky was good every day. He didn’t make any mistakes throughout the rally and he deserves the win. He rode better than me and was better than me this year, but I have 11 more months to train harder and work better to come back stronger next year’.
