Ross Branch surrendered the lead in the Dakar 2024 during the 48-hour stage that concluded this Friday. The Hero MotoSports rider, who lost his last teammate after Joan Barreda’s withdrawal, finished fifth in the stage and is now second in the overall standings, trailing Ricky Brabec (Hero MotoSports) by 51 seconds.
This was a stage that promised significant challenges, and the rider from Botswana confirmed to the official Dakar website that these difficulties were indeed felt:
– It was probably one of the toughest rally stages I’ve ever done in my life. We did 530km yesterday, it was super tough, and then this morning the dunes were so soft, so that was just the cherry on the top for this really hard stage. But we’re here in one piece and kept the bike together which was the main aim, so we can fight again next week.