Dakar Rally 2024: Hero Motosports in second place; View the latest standings

Dakar Rally 2024: Ross Branch completed the stage in the fourth fastest time, strengthening his second position on the overall rankings.

Riyadh: In the latest update of the Dakar Rally 2024, Hero MotoSports Team Rally, the motorsport team of the world's largest manufacturer of motorcycles and scooters – Hero MotoCorp, has concluded the 7th of the 12 stages of the Dakar Rally 2024 with a Top-5 result.

Ross Branch completed the stage with the fourth fastest time, strengthening his second position on the general classification. At the end of 7 stages, the Botswana is only 1 second behind the current leader. As the Rally enters its second stage, competition in the top class has become extremely tight, with just over six minutes separating the top three.

Arriving in Riyadh on Saturday, January 13, the competitors enjoyed a well-deserved rest day, after completing 6 incredible stages and more than 4,000km in the saddle. The support crews worked all day to get the men and machines back into shape for another week of intense racing.

Stage 7 on January 14 was the longest stage of Dakar 2024 in terms of mileage in one day. Ross Branch started the day as early as 4am, leaving camp on a 255km road section before boarding the 483km special . He reached the bivouac in Ha'il after covering another 136 km by road.

Since the start of the 46th Dakar Rally, Ross Branch has achieved the number 1 position in four of the seven stages. The only man left in the Hero line-up, 'Kalahari Ferrari', saw all three of his teammates drop out of the race in the first week. Several of Ross's other top competitors and colleagues – as many as 10 of the 23 Rally GP class riders who started from AlUla – have quit midway due to injuries or mechanical failures. It then goes on to mention how much more demanding Dakar 2024 has been compared to the previous editions – just as the organizers predicted.

However, a confident Ross (or 'Rossi' as he is affectionately known in the Dakar bivouac) continues to hold his fort at the top – managing the many pressures of the rally and the hopes of millions of supporters from around the world – all with a big smile, as always.

From the bivouac in Al Duwadimi, the participants now head northwest to Ha'il, on a slightly easier leg with sand and stones. However, the change of scenery requires riders to remain on high alert as the rough terrain can easily cause punctures.

Ross Branch:

It was also a long stage today – 480 km of very tough riding. But it was also a lot of fun. Lots of open, flowing paths and wadis and some dunes in the middle – I enjoyed it! The race at the front is very close now, so we have a few days to get it right and see what we can do. Thank you all for the support!”

Provisional rankings – Stage 7

1. Ignacio Cornejo Monster Energy Honda Team 05h 18m 33s
2. Luciano Benavides Husqvarna Factory Racing + 3m 12s
3. Kevin Benavides RedBull KTM Factory Racing + 3m 32s
4. Ross Branch Hero MotoSports Team Rally + 6m 36s

Preliminary Overall Ranking – at the end of Stage 7

1. Ricky Brabec Monster Energy Honda Team 32 hours 37 minutes 20 seconds
2. Ross Branch Hero MotoSports Team Rally + 0m 01s
3. Ignacio Cornejo Monster Energy Honda Team + 6m 48s
4. Adrien Van Beveren Monster Energy Honda Team + 14m 39s

5. Kevin Benavides RedBull KTM Factory Racing + 24m 39s