Profile of ROSS BRANCH - HERO MOTOSPORTS TEAM RALLY

N°46 Bike HERO MOTOSPORTS TEAM RALLY

SUNIER SUNIER

KEVIN BENAVIDES

ROSS BRANCH

(bwa) 1.74m / 79kg

Hobbies

Mountain bikes, golf, adventures

“All the stars must align!”

You won't meet a more enthusiastic and cheerful rider in a bivouac whether in Argentina, Morocco or Saudi Arabia. Year after year, Ross Branch is living the dream. And his smile never leaves his face. Since winning his first stage in 2020 as a privateer, the rider from Botswana has blazed a glorious trail. That road hasn’t always been a walk in the park, especially when he became a factory rider. During his Dakar campaigns in the blue colours of the official Yamaha team (in 2021 and 2022), his adventures ended in tears, first because of a mechanical incident, then a crash. With Yamaha having stopped its rally-raid programme, things could have ended there for the Gaborone native. Fortunately, a new opportunity arose with Indian manufacturer Hero and its factory team. While continuing to work as an airline pilot, Branch once again took part in all the rounds of the W2RC, finishing in the top five of the general classification after excellent results in Argentina (4th) and Morocco (4th). Nicknamed the 'Ferrari of the Kalahari' by a local fan in reference to a very fast donkey cart, 37-year-old Ross Branch now has just one thing on his mind: win the Dakar after retiring twice and finishing the last rally in a disappointing 27th place (despite two stage wins). At any rate, he feels ready to smile on the podium of the world's most famous rally raid five years after finishing as the best rookie in 2019 (13th overall).

“I’m so excited. The team has been putting so much effort. The Hero bike is going incredibly well. I’ve been working really hard at home on the navigational side of things where I thought I was lacking a lot compared to the other riders. I’m excited. I want to go now. The bike is ready to go. I’m ready to go. We left Rallye du Maroc with a lot of confidence (4th). I’m going to go for the best possible result. Everything has got to line up. There are so many guys who can win. It’s going to be a good one and hopefully the best one yet for me. I’m ready to win it. I’ve put in the work. I felt last year that I was lacking in a few places. I feel now that I’ve got everything ready. Hopefully the work is going to pay off. The team has been unbelievable in fixing all the small issues that we had. Now we’ve got a winning bike. The rest is up to me. It’s a dream to be a factory rider. It’s been a dream of mine since I was a kid. Obviously, it comes with the pressure but it’s good pressure. I’m enjoying every day that I can, living life at the fullest. I’m just really proud and privileged and very grateful to Hero Motorsports to have this opportunity. I hope I can make them proud and obviously the country of Botswana. We’ll give it our best shot and as long as I leave the Dakar with no regrets, that’s going to be the main thing.”

Vehicle

HERO MOTOSPORTS TEAM RALLY

HERO 450 RALLY
HERO MOTOSPORTS TEAM RALLY

Mark HERO
Model 450 RALLY
Performance tuner Hero motosports team rally
Assistance Hero motosports team rally
Class Rally GP

Ranking 2024

All news of R. Branch

Dakar 2024: Brabec and Sainz, masters of the dunes

The 46th edition of the Dakar, the 5th to be organised in Saudi Arabia, has finished after more than 4,700 kilometres of specials and a total distance of almost 8,000 kilometres, which tested the riders, drivers, co-pilots and crews, from the ancient city of AlUla to the shores of the Red Sea, passing through the oceans of dunes in the Empty Quarter. The major winners of the 2024...

Ross Branch: “One of the toughest ones I’ve ever done”

Ross Branch, 2nd in the general rankings, has achieved the first podium finish for the Hero brand on the Dakar as well as his best personal performance.

“I feel on top of the world. It was a really long rally, probably one of the toughest ones I’ve ever done. Hats off to Ricky, he rode an outstanding race. It was really close up until...

Brabec, Branch and Van Beveren reach the finish

Ricky Brabec (Monster Energy Honda), Ross Branch (Hero MotoSports) and Adrien Van Beveren (Monster Energy Honda) have finished the special! On the condition that they reach the finish podium, Brabec will win his 2nd Dakar after his first in 2020. Branch and Van Beveren will also take place on the podium for the first time in their careers. The man from Botswana appears to have...

Only 25 kilometres left for Branch

Ross Branch, who is opening the special, has just completed 150 km. With 25 km left before the finish, he is 9’37’’ behind Ricky Brabec in the virtual general rankings. Adrien Van Beveren trails his Honda team-mate by 12’19’’, 2’24’’ behind the Hero rider. The positions on the final podium have not changed since the start...

Brabec and Sainz show who’s boss

FOCUS

The terrain proves decisive! With more than 4,700 kilometres of specials over two weeks of racing, it is still possible to predict where the victory will be won. The dunes of the Empty Quarter definitely played an important role, while the volcanic stones on the first stage also played a part. Indeed, we could list the damage recorded on each of the stages in one...

Dakar 2024 - Stage 11 | All the results

RALLY GP | BRANCH WINS STAGE 11

Ross Branch has achieved the best time at the finish of the special to grab his second stage victory on this edition of the Dakar. The man from Botswana has deprived Ricky Brabec of victory by 32’’, despite the American’s acquisition of 5’45’’ in bonuses. The American has therefore lost the same amount...

Ross Branch: “Ricky is riding an amazing race”

Ross Branch won his 2nd stage of the year after his victory on stage 1. He has finished ahead of Brabec and Van Beveren, the other two strong men of this year's race, but was unable to make any significant inroads on Brabec, while staying clear of Van Beveren.

“It was way better than last year’s same stage. I enjoyed it, it was good fun....

Brabec heading for his 2nd stage victory

Ricky Brabec still leads the day’s special. Ross Branch is the quickest rider at the last intermediate point on the stage, after 375 km, 1’47’’ ahead of Adrien Van Beveren, but Brabec, who is 5’15’’ slower than the current leader, also possesses 5’45’’ in bonuses. In the virtual classification for the special as it...