Branch chases World Championship improvement

Branch yesterday kicked off his campaign in the world championship round four, the Desafio Ruta 40 held in Argentina. The local biker currently sits eighth in the world rankings and from Argetina he will have a single round to ride in. He has thus far collected 29 points from the first three rounds as Australian, Toby Price leads the charts with 62 points. Branch finished 11th in the W2RC first found in the Dakar Rally.

He moved places higher with a fifth place finish at the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge before he came at sixth place at the Sonora Rally in Mexico. Branch returned to the bike on the prologue stage of the Desafio Ruta 40 yesterday as a racing adventure of more than 5,000km resumes today. He will line against his fellow competitors in a terrain that features national parks and wildlife reserves with sandy stretches, flat riverbed and mountainous paths. Branch’s factory team, Hero Motorsport Rally Team also eyes a ranking improvement. They sit fourth in the factory team rankings.