Ross Branch stayed within touching distance of his first ever Dakar Rally title as he is a second behind the overall leader standings after a fourth finish on Stage Seven this afternoon.
The local biker reduced the time difference with Ricky Brabec of the USA as he is just a second behind the leader. Branch was fifth on the stage stags but second overall. The biker remained in second place in the general standings as Brabec ascended to the top spot. Going into Saturday's (yesterday) rest day, Branch was 51 seconds behind the American. The local lad has five more stages to challenge for his first Dakar Rally title.
He is enjoying one of his best rides at this year’s edition after a stage win on day one while he has been in the first spot on four occasions from the seven stages thus far. “We had a few issues from about kilometre 50 but easy enough to fix and we will get sorted for tomorrow. All in all it was an okay day, we got the navigation right, open and flowing checks until the end and we got in to some stoney stuff and rivers banks. But all in all I am good, the bike is good and I am ready for tomorrow,” Branch reacted to the Stage Seven run. The biker will face a 678km stretch as he will look to return to the top spot.
The rally will end on Friday, January 19.
