Hero MotoSports Team Rally, the motorsport team of the world’s largest manufacturer of motorcycles and scooters – Hero MotoCorp, successfully completed the 3rd and longest Stage of Rallye Du Maroc 2024, with both riders finishing in the top 10 positions in the Rally GP class.
Rally GP Class competitors Ross Branch and Nacho Cornejo representing Hero MotoSports Team Rally have finished the Stage in the 7th and 8th positions respectively. In the overall Rally GP class rankings, Ross stands at the 6th place, with Nacho close behind at the 8th spot.
Rallye Du Maroc is the 5th and final round of the FIM World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC) 2024. Since the 2nd round of the W2RC in Abu Dhabi earlier this year, Hero MotoSports team rider Ross Branch – who is also an airline pilot by profession – has been flying high at the top of the championship ranks. With his fiercest competition Ricky Brabec out of this final round, it is now understood that the Botswanan only needs to finish the rally to be crowned the World Champion. Ross enjoys a solid 16-point lead over Adrien Van Beveren, the current 3rd place holder. If all goes well, this will be a historic first for Hero MotoSports, and for Ross Branch.
The Hero camp has improvised their race strategy to make the best of the opportunity – to ensure a safe race completion for Ross. Several riders have already retired from the Rallye Du Maroc in the last 3 days due to accidents and injury, including Sebastian Buhler from team Hero. Today, in the 3rd stage, Hero riders Ross and Nacho were seen riding together over the entire stretch. With just two Stages left until the finish, the 8-year young Indian manufacturer team is playing their cards safe – determined to make their sky-high ambitions come true.
Stage 3 of Rallye Du Maroc 2024 was the longest of the week – taking the competitors from Zagora towards Mengoub/Bouârfa, a desert town in the Oriental region. Starting early in the morning, participants rode over 687 kms, of which 327 kms were timed. Crossing the endless seas of dunes was fairly much easier than in the previous days, and the route was also less affected by the massive rains that is known to have devastated several regions of Morocco in the last few weeks and months.
Starting from Mengoub – the final bivouac of the week – Stage 4 will lead the competitors on a 377 km loop to explore the beauty of North-eastern Morocco. This town near the Algerian border Algeria will be home to the rally caravan, until the finish of the race on Friday.
Ross Branch: « It was a much better today, and I felt really comfortable on the bike. I met up with my team mate Nacho early on, and we had a lot of fun today riding together, all through the stage. A big thank you to him for riding so well, and for riding with me. It was indeed an awesome day! I’m looking forward to the last two days of the rally, and we’re working towards the best outcome. »
Nacho Cornejo: « We’re done with Stage 3, the longest day of this week. I took it quite easy from the start, and we had a strategy in place to help my team mate Ross reach the finish without any issues. As you know, he is in a strong position to win the World Championship. I’m very happy with how the day turned out – we had a lot of fun in the dunes, riding together all day. Just two more stages to go, and we will do our best. »
Provisional Rankings – Stage 3 (Rally GP Class)
1. Tosha Schareina, Monster Energy Honda Team, 03h 26m 11s
2. Daniel Sanders, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, + 52s
3. Adrien Van Beveren, Monster Energy Honda Team, + 05m 13s…
7. Ross Branch, Hero MotoSports Team Rally, + 17m 59s
8. Nacho Cornejo, Hero MotoSports Team Rally, + 26m 45s…
Overall Provisional Rankings after Stage 3 (Rally GP Class)
1. Tosha Schareina, Monster Energy Honda Team, 09h 25m 34s
2. Daniel Sanders, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, + 01m 34s
3. Adrien Van Beveren, Monster Energy Honda Team, + 15m 55s…
6. Ross Branch, Hero MotoSports Team Rally, + 29m 50s…
8. Nacho Cornejo, Hero MotoSports Team Rally, + 50m 01s…