Yanbu (Saudi Arabia), Jan 18 (PTI) Hero MotoSports Team Rally rider Ross Branch won the 11th and penultimate stage of Dakar 2024 in the bike ‘Rally GP’ category, here on Thursday.
This is the second ‘stage’ victory for Hero MotoSports at this edition of the Dakar, having won the first earlier.
In overall classifications, the Botswanian held on to the second position but behind Honda’s Ricky Brabec by around 10 minutes.
Putting up an impressive show on Thursday, the ‘Kalahari Ferrari’ reached the finish almost 6.5 minutes faster than the American.
However, Ricky had gained five minutes and 45 seconds in bonuses — courtesy of opening the entire stage on Thursday — and hence the overall standings did not see significant movement within the top two.
However, after stage 11, Branch increased his lead to over four minutes from the third-place holder Adrien Van Beveren from the Honda Team.
Having performed consistently since the beginning and topping it with a stage victory in the last leg, Branch is now closer to an overall podium at Dakar 2024.
Meanwhile, competing in Rally 2 category of bike racing, Harith Noah became first Indian to top overall ranking across any category. Harith finished 11th stage with a the second spot.
Bradley Cox achieved the best time in the Rally 2 class to win for the third time this year. The South African defeated Noah by eight minutes and 29 seconds, but the Indian took the lead in the Rally 2 general rankings.
Romain Dumontier, on top in overall rankings after stage 10, lost more than 18 minutes and 30 seconds to Cox on Thursday and is now in second place overall, five minutes and 53 seconds behind Noah.
It is the first time that a TVS Sherco rider has in the Rally 2 class.
The stage 11 was a 420-km long stretch running through canyons and dry rivers, taking the competitors from Al Ula to the final bivouac in Yanbu.
The terrain was mostly rugged with rocks and stones lining up the entire length.
Branch enjoyed this technically and physically challenging stage and managed to reach the finish line. It marked Branch’s fourth stage win for Team Hero.
Branch said, “The bike was going amazing, and I made no mistakes, which is quite important to stay calm in the race.” “The race leader has a significant lead over me, but I’m really happy with where I am at the moment,” he added.
This is also the fifth stage win for the Hero MotoSports Team Rally, which has seen a steep growth curve in the last few years.
Source: PTI News
