2025 Dakar Rally Stage 2 Day 1: Hero MotoSports’ Ross Branch fights hard to maintain third
The Botswana rider is now just 2 seconds adrift of P2 while teammate Nacho Cornejo is a steady 11th;
The 2025 Dakar Rally’s 48-hour chrono stage is living up to its promise of endurance and high-speed action. Like yesterday, the riders continue to battle through the tough terrain. Hero MotoSports Team Rally riders Ross Branch and Jose Ignacio 'Nacho' Cornejo Florimo are right in the mix, putting up a strong fight, while leaders Ricky Brabec and the fast-paced Daniel Sanders are now close.
Ross Branch continues to challenge the front-runners
Day 1 saw the riders tackle more than 600 kilometres of desert terrain, dunes, and rocky paths. The Rally GP class riders set off in reverse order of Stage 1 standings, with Red Bull KTM’s Daniel Sanders starting from the 20th. Ross Branch, who was third overall, took the opportunity to stamp his presence early, clocking the fastest time through the km 48 checkpoint. At the km 48 mark, Branch was 22 seconds ahead of Sanders but was trailing by 32 seconds behind Sanders at the km 95 checkpoint. At the 205 km checkpoint, Sanders and Monster Energy Honda’s Ricky Brabec broke away from the rest of the field, leaving Branch 2min 28sec behind. However, Branch managed to stay in the top three. By km 609, Branch was 3min 55sec behind Sanders on raw time. However, his impressive bonus time for opening sections of the route brought him within just 2 seconds of Brabec in the virtual standings.
His teammate, Nacho Cornejo, who is looking to climb back from a difficult Prologue, had a more measured day. He had positioned himself among the top 10 and rode well, maintaining his top ranking. Before the day’s end, he was 11th.
Stage 2 continues tomorrow
The 48-hour chrono stage continues tomorrow after tonight’s halt where competitors are given an option of picking either of the six rest points where they are given limited rations and have to sleep under the desert sky in a tent. The next day, the competitors begin at 0700 and will continue the rest of the stage.
The top three riders, Sanders, Brabec, and Branch, are expected to continue their intense battle for the top spot. With the terrain getting rougher and both the riders and their machines pushed to the max, tomorrow promises to bring more drama into the 2025 Dakar Rally.