In second and third on the day were Australian, Daniel Sanders and Mason Klein of the USA. However, Branch got off to a promising start as he was sitting third after the first three stages of the race. In stage four, held on Wednesday, Branch's bike ran out of fuel just 178km in to the 574km of the day. Branch lost five hours of the race and came in at position 128 on the day. This saw the 'Kalahari Ferrari' moving just outside the top 50 brackets after his fuel ordeal. He dished some impressive displays on the terrain from then as he came 62nd and 28th on stage five and six respectively.
Branch moved to 40th position in the overall standings after stage six. He was lying 40th ahead of his yesterday's (Sunday) triumphs as he finished the 822km in 3 hours 46 minutes and 18 seconds. Branch will be hoping to carry the good omen as the race begins tomorrow with stage nine. The Dakar Rally took a rest day today (Monday). Mid-way through the race, a total of 31 bikers have withdrawn from the competition, including defending champion, Sam Sunderland of the Great Britain who fell off on stage one. American, Skyler Howes leads the overall standings at the break with Argentine, Kevin Benavides and Klein in second and third respectively.
