Branch is back with another victory nearly two days after winning stage eight of the 2023 Dakar rally in Saudi Arabia, making it the third time he has won a stage race since his first appearance in the tournament in 2019.
Branch started 28th and quietly posted the fastest time at each checkpoint. In the end, he won the stage by 21 seconds over Van Beveren, giving him a second victory in this Dakar and Hero MotoSports its third stage victory.
Even though Branch has won two straight stages, the results have little bearing on his standings since he was eliminated from contention for the champion title as a result of his bike running out of fuel during stage two and was left behind at the start of the competition.
The Kalahariferarri’s moved from position 35 to 32 in the 10th stage of the tournament with only 14 stages left of the tournament to come to an end.
