Exclusive: Motorcyclist Ross Branch Eyes Second World Title in Dakar Rally Quest

The Botswana international who was born in South Africa is in search of his second world title in just over three months after securing the World Rally-Raid title in October 2024.

Branch hit the ground running as he finished in the podium (third place) in the 499 km first stage across Bisha; his fourth place in stage three placed him third overall as he continues his attempt to back up his second-place finish in the 2024 edition.

Stage three of the rally was scheduled for a distance of 496 km from Bisha to Al Henakiyah. But it was reduced to 327 km due to severe storms in the intended destination.

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Daniel Sanders has set the early pace with three stage wins on the trot. He currently holds an overall lead of +1:57 over the United States' Skyler Howes, who is separated from Branch by a slender eight seconds in third position heading to stage four.

EARLY CAREER

"From the day I first got into a motorcycle, I have always wanted to make this a career and race motorcycles for a living," Branch told Sportsboom.com.

"I have never ever looked at other sports. I do love sports, and I do love watching, but I never really wanted to participate in any other sport except for racing bikes."

"I started racing when I was three years old, and my dad was a big motorcycle fanatic, so he was riding bikes, and after I was born he wanted me to ride with him and have a father-son activity; he was an influence in my riding."

FINANCIAL CHALLENGES

The Hero MotorSports Team Rider became the first African World Rally-Raid Champion, and as he embarks on a tough Saudi desert challenge, he has been mindful of the impact his role might have on the future of the sport on the African continent despite its expensive nature.

"It took me 33 years to get a world championship. I just never stopped believing I could get it, so for me to win this title was a dream come true," Branch continued.

"Unfortunately, the downfall of the sport is that it is very expensive, and it’s similar to Formula One and MotoGP; it can be quite costly to get into the sport; to participate in the Dakar Rally can cost around two million rands just to be able to go and race there, so it’s very expensive."

"The big thing now is that people realise that it’s possible for Africans to participate in the sport, so hopefully from now on it will get a little bit easier, and we can have a few training academies opened up in the near future to train kids and give them the opportunities they deserve."

TRAINING, MENTAL AND PHYSICAL CHALLENGES

With over 7800 kilometres across the 12 stages, including the prologue, the tough and testing Dakar conditions make it one of the most brutal races in the calendar but also one that every rider wants to win to stake a claim at being the best rider.

Preparing for the race can take its toll on the riders and requires just as much effort as it does in the actual race.

"The biggest thing is just finding the time to do so many kilometres; we have done over 13,000 kilometres in Namibia training for the Dakar Rally alone, and then throughout the year we had the World Championship series, so we have had a lot of time on the bike."

"For us, it’s about finding the right place to train and to get better at what we do, especially the amount of time we spend on the bike."

"Physically, I do a lot of work on the bike, obviously with training, but I also do about four hours a day in the gym; we do a lot of cross-training as well."

"I spend a lot of time on the bicycle; it does require full-time training when you want to participate at the top level of these races."

"For the Dakar, you have to be mentally prepared because it is such a long distance, and we do about 800 kilometres every day through the bush, so it gets really tough, and it demands a lot mentally."

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