Ross Branch remains in contention for victory after the first week of the Dakar. The rally-raid world champion sits in third place in the standings, 17m48s behind leader Daniel Sanders (Red Bull KTM).
The Hero MotoSports rider wrapped up this initial week with a fourth-place finish in stage five, recovering from setbacks in the previous stage, as he stated in a press release:
– We’ve arrived at the Ha’il Bivouac, marking the end of the marathon stage. The fifth stage was good, unlike the previous one where I made a navigation mistake at the end of the stage which costed us a lot of time and got a speeding penalty halfway through the stage.
With seven stages remaining, Branch is aware of the challenges ahead but remains highly motivated: ‘We are here in one piece, the bike is in good condition, and the team is happy and in high spirits. With a mammoth second week ahead, we’re more determined than ever to make our mark. We’re still very much in the race, and our motivation is stronger than ever. Bring on week number two!’.
