The blue,black and white flag will be hoisted at the Dakar Rally podium for the first time in history as Ross Branch finished second in the gruelling race that ended this morning.
He has been in the Persian Gulf deserts since January 5 for the Dakar Rally which is also the first round of the 2024 World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC)
Branch finished eighth on the final stage to clinch second position overall, a first for any Motswana rider. He also became the best performing African biker at the race. The Kalahari Ferrari was unlucky not to clinch his first ever Dakar Rally title as he finished just 10 minutes and 53 seconds behind eventual winner, Ricky Brabec of USA while Adrien van Beveren came third. It was pleasant display by Branch on the bike over the past two weeks as he equaled his Dakar Rally stage wins with two in this year's edition as he took his Dakar Rally career stage wins to five, the most by a local rider. This is his best ever finish at the race on his sixth appearance. Branch finished 13th on his debut in 2019 and walked away with the Best Rookie award.
