After the exit of Joaquim Rodrigues from Dakar 2023 in stage 4, it was finally some good news as Ross Branch won stage 8 for Hero MotoSports Team Rally. Sebastian Buhler finished the stage in 6th position while Franco Caimi finished the stage in 16th position.
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After Stage 7 was cancelled from the Dakar, Stage 8 was an 824 km long ride from Al Duwadimi to Riyadh, of which 346 kms formed the special section. Aligning with the ad-hoc marathon stage that was designed by the race organisers, the competitors spent the previous night at the Al Duwadimi bivouac, while the service crews camped 500 km away in Riyadh. The stage was tough and tricky along with being fast too, but not without its fair share of sand, stony tracks and dunes. Hero said that the team had fun on the stage, riding as fast as they could.
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Ross Branch, Rider, Hero MotoSports Team Rally, said, “It's amazing to be here! We worked really hard for it. It has been a tough week, and I'm really happy to go into the rest day with a Stage Win. This morning I felt really good, the bike was excellent, and I decided to push as hard as I could. It was a good stage, the navigation was fine, and I thoroughly enjoyed it as I went all out and raced the whole thing! A big thank you to the team for all the amazing effort, and for not giving up on me. It's a happy day, and hopefully we'll gather some more wins next week!”
(Sebastian Buhler finished stage 8 in 6th position)
Franco Caimi has put in a consistent performance so far and currently occupies 15th position in the overall standings. Sebastian Buhler and Ross Branch follow him in the 18th and 20th positions respectively, in the overall Rally GP class rankings.
