Hero MotoSports Team Rally, the motorsport team of Hero MotoCorp finished in the top ten positions in the prologue stage at the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge (ADDC) 2023 which is the second round of the World Rally Raid Championship 2023. The team had a very good outing at the Dakar Rally which happened in January 2023 which included two stage wins and a stage podium. The ADDC, which featured a brand-new route this year, started the very first day in the desert as opposed to usually starting at the Yas Marina Circuit.
The team is represented by factory riders Sebastian Buhler and Ross Branch in Abu Dhabi. The duo finished fifth and seventh in the Prologue Stage competing in the rally class. The Prologue stage included a 6 km sprint in the desert, in a venue that was about 250 km away from Abu Dhabi. The first official stage of the ADDC 2023 takes place on Monday, February 27th, and it will take the riders on a 242 km special in the sands of Arabia from Al Dhannah city to the camp in Qasr Al Sarab.
Speaking about the event, Wolfgang Fischer, Team Manager, Hero MotoSports Team Rally said “We are here at the 2nd round of the World Rally Raid Championship 2023 and this time we are on a new route after many years. The riders have received their first taste of the Liwa desert, and tomorrow, we enter the big dunes right away, riding southeast. The next 5 days will be spent in the desert before heading back to Abu Dhabi. Ross and Sebastian are feeling good, fit, and eager to race. Unfortunately, JRod and Franco are recovering from injuries and are missing this race. However, the team is highly motivated to race here in Abu Dhabi after our solid Dakar 2023 performance, and we look forward to the first stage.”
