Ross Branch no longer has any teammates in the Dakar 2024, after Joan Barreda abandoned during the sixth stage on Friday. In any case, the Hero MotoSports rider is well positioned to fight for victory, being second in the overall classification, and maintains high ambition.
The Botswana-born driver admitted to the official Dakar website that it is not ideal to be the only driver from the team in the race: ‘The team worked so hard, so it is really disappointing to now be the only rider. They deserve much better. Unfortunately, the stage was going to take its toll on the bikes, we knew that, so we just had to try to keep it intact. Being the only Hero rider is not fun and I needed him next week, but it is what it is, it’s racing’.
In any case, Branch emphasized that the situation will not change the strategy, maintaining the same objective – to be a winner: ‘I don’t think so. I want to win, so I’m going to go out and attack as much as I can, when I can. Obviously, I have to be a little more cautious, I can’t take too many risks, but it is what it is. Just go out and have a fun week. The goal was to survive this week. We did it and we’re here in one piece. This was definitely the toughest stage. At least we know that from now on it will be a little easier’.
