Ross Branch regains the lead in Dakar 2024 in the motorcycle category after the dispute of stage 5. The Botswana driver makes it even more clear that he can make history in this Dakar by trying harder than ever to attack the title, which will be a first for the Indian brand. Ross has made it clear that he is not cheating nor is he planning to come down with a theoretically inferior motorcycle and with less budget than his rivals from the all powerful brands KTM and Honda.
Riding on a Hero, he makes good the name of the company he represents and dresses as a hero every day, without fail, clinging to the top with great tenacity and solvency. And he did it again afterwards a stage 5 where Pablo Quintanilla won.
This Wednesday’s Stage 5 is short in terms of special, only 118 kilometers, but with more than ‘torture’ 500 kilometers of links. The timed kilometers are sand and more sand, a small appetizer of what all the competitors will see in stage 6: the long-awaited 48-hour time trial stage.
Quintanilla, risky bet: it will open in 48 hours
This Thursday, The pilots will face the first part of the great novelty of the Dakar, a 48-hour, two-day stage, with a total of 600 kilometers of sand. and more dunes inside the scary ‘Empty Quarter’, the largest sand desert in the world. In it, everyone can ride until 4:00 p.m., when they are forced to stop and go to the nearest bivouac to complete the remaining kilometers of the next day’s stage.
Because of that, he did Pablo Quintanilla At this stage 5 it is a very risky bet. He places all the pieces in the middle of the board to achieve an ‘all or nothing’ textbook. The Chilean from Honda won stage 5 with a 37 second advantage Van Beveren, and both Honda drivers had to help each other to open the track in the middle of the ‘Empty Quarter’, a big challenge. In 1’39” he finished Toby Price who is 2’58”, Daniel Sanders. Klein was 5th and Ross Branch 6th at 3’42”, again leading the race.
All in all, The branch put 1’14” in Cornejowho is 13th and will have a good chance this Thursday to go on the attack in search of an overall lead against Branch due to his delayed starting position at a crucial stage. Brabec He was 3rd overall at 3’47” and from there the other drivers had a tougher time: Van Beveren held his own at 18’10”. The current champion, Kevin Benavides, remains 21’17” and Pablo Quintanilla is 26’47”, with Luciano Benavides and Toby Price 30 minutes behind the leader.
During those 26 minutes Quintanilla decided to continue the attack. On paper, winning stage 5 this Wednesday is not the best as it can be a double-edged sword. On the one hand, the taste of success is success. On the other hand, the enormous risk to lose all Dakar options in the 48-hour period, because the Chilean, by winning the stage, has to open the most complicated day of all, for two consecutive days of racing. And it must be done in the dunes, where leaving can make the biggest difference because of the marks left by motorcycles in the sand. Quintanilla wants to try it heroically in a huge desert, which stretches beyond Saudi Arabia, to Yemen, Oman and the United Arab Emirates. The famous ‘Rub ‘al Khali’, ie ’empty room’, where there is only sand and more sand, awaits the main characters of Dakar.
Barreda, farther
Joan Barreda lost another 10 minutes in stage 5 of the Dakar on motorcycles and was 12th overall although further away from the lead, 48’02”. His options are few and now he has to focus on helping his teammate Ross Branch as much as he can in fighting for a crown that will be historic for the Indian firm. Also, go for stage wins. The driver from Torreblanca, with 29 victories, is the active driver with the most wins and this could be his last Dakar. He is 4 away from the record and can try to approach from this stage 6 in 48 hours.
That the sands are his favorite terrain and that he is one of the fastest sand drivers is no secret. And also, starting from the back, 27th, he will be able to seize the opportunity to do everything to win stage 5. Away from the general classification, that should be his goal.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
