Branch’s world title defence over
Kabelo Boranabi | Thursday September 25, 2025 15:29
The setback is a crushing blow for Branch, who came into the season as the reigning world champion and a beacon of Botswana motorsport on the global stage.
This withdrawal marks the latest in a series of unfortunate events for the 39-year-old, who has now failed to complete three of the four W2RC rounds in 2025.
Branch’s campaign began on a disappointing note at the season opener, the Dakar Rally, where mechanical troubles forced him out of contention.
The challenges continued at the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, where a crash denied him any points. His only bright spot so far was the South African Safari Rally, where he impressively claimed eight points on the new W2RC entrant race, securing an eighth-place finish.
With Branch out of Portugal, the championship race is wide open. He trails Australia’s Daniel Sanders by 80 points as the latter currently leads the standings with 88 points, backed by three victories in the first three events.
He is followed by a fierce battle for second between Argentine Luciano Benavides and American Ricky Brabec, both tied at 53 points after strong showings across Dakar, Abu Dhabi, and South Africa. Frenchman Adrian Van Beveren on 48 points did not finish as he dislocated his shoulder just 180km into Thursday's stage three. Spain’s Tosha Schareina (46 points) round out the top four, making the fight for the podium as tight as ever.
Branch’s early-season misfortune underscores the high-stakes, unforgiving nature of rally raid racing, where one crash can instantly end a title defence.
As Sanders, Benavides, and Brabec prepare for the next stages, all eyes will be on Portugal to see who can seize the advantage in this gruelling global championship and whether Branch can bounce back in future events to reclaim his status amongst the world’s elite rally riders.
The Jwaneng lad is, however, expected to line up for the final round of the W2RC, the Rallye du Maroc, in November.
He had made a great return to the motocross scene as he emerged the winner of the Motocross of African Nations (MXoAN) in August in Zimbabwe.