Interview with 2024 Dakar Rally Runner-Up Ross Branch

You’d be hard press to find a more positive, fun-loving, outgoing and truly genuine person at the Dakar Rally than Monster Energy’s Ross Branch of Hero Motosports. This year’s motorcycle division runner-up to winner Ricky Brabec (Monster Energy/Honda Team), Branch was on top of his game the past two weeks in Saudi Arabia, showing off the desert racing skills that’s earned him the indelible nickname the “Kalahari Ferrari.”

Right out of the gate Branch let everyone know he arrived with the sole intent of making his first career overall Dakar podium in his sixth year of racing the epic event. Branch bolted out of the start of the opening Prologue race and won it – then led the Dakar’s overall motorcycle division scoring on and off through Stage 5 (of 12). Branch would then hold the No. 2 position, behind Brabec, through the final stage – bringing his Hero Motosports, fueled by Monster Energy 450 Rally bike home in 2nd place following two grueling weeks of racing in and around Saudi Arabia’s famed “Empty Quarter” desert.

Branch’s initial years racing Dakar, with Yamaha, were cut short due to a mechanical failure (2021) and a crash (’22). Yamaha would drop its factory support for the Dakar program the following year, which opened up an avenue for Branch to join the upstart Hero Motosports program. An airline pilot by trade, Branch has also flown high with the Hero/Monster Energy program the last two seasons, nailing a couple top five finishes (4th in Argentina and 4th in Morrocco) on the FIM World Rally Raid Championship tour in its inaugural year.

MonsterEnergy.com caught up to Branch and got his take on the interesting aspects and behind-the-scenes takes of this year’s Dakar Rally, along with, in the end, his career-best 2nd place finish.

Right out of the gate, please explain the feeling of completing the Dakar Rally.

“Just completing the rally for myself is a win. It’s such a tough rally, and there’s so many kilometers, and so many things that could go wrong. So just getting to the finish line is like a win for me. Just finishing feels really, really good.”

What was the high point for you at this year’s Rally?

“Definitely the two stage wins. The Prologue win was a big factor for us this year. Helped us get a gap to maintain the consistency for the whole rally. And the Stage 11 win was key in us making the overall podium. So those two stage wins means the world to me. But not just me, but for the whole team. That put us in a good place.”

Conversely, what point of Dakar challenged you the most?

“Definitely Stage 7. I lost the front brakes really early in the race and it was some 450 K race. So it was really tough and I thought at that point we had made a big mistake and lost hope of the podium. But that was definitely the most challenging point of the rally for me.”

Was there ever a moment where you thought, or came close to thinking, “That’s it. I’ve just thrown my podium position away.”

“Yes, I thought the podium position was gone when I lost the front brake pads. It was super strange. Just a tree hooked the safety wire that holds the brake pads in and pulled them right out. Just a very, very unique and unlucky situation and I’d really thought that I’d thrown it away at that point.”

Discuss what the Dakar Rally does to one’s body. Unbelievable time in the saddle. Concentration levels peaked for hours on end. Muscles and tendons absolutely maxed out. Living conditions pulled together in the middle of a far off desert. How are you able to deal with all that for days on end?

“The Dakar Rally – it’s crazy what it does to your body. We check after the race and I lost seven-and-a-half kilos (16.5 lbs.) in 12 days of riding. The Dakar does so much to your body. You have pains and aches in parts of your body where you never thought you’d be able to have aches and pains. And it not only works your body to the maximum, but also your brain, mentally. To the edge. It’s such a good feeling to get to the end of each stage. But your body feels totally exhausted. Beyond that, the living conditions in the middle of the desert are insane. But that said, the cool thing is we have a rally family and everyone sticks together and is there to talk about the war stories from that day, and it helps you get through the tough times and the hard living conditions we have to endure. So having the rally family is huge. It wouldn’t be as simple and I’m really happy for that.”

Such incredible support goes on behind the scenes for you to achieve this amazing finish. Discuss the support program that helped you to achieve such heights at the 2024 Dakar.

“We’ve got the most incredible support. From the manufacturers to all of our supporters, including Monster Energy, is incredible. So to finish on the podium not only means the world to me, but I also know it means just as much to the team and our sponsors. It’s been a dream of mine since I was a little kid – to get on the podium at Dakar. And to finally reach that goal it just an incredible feeling. And it makes you hungry to come back and do even better than we did. Make our sponsors proud and the team proud. That’s just the main thing. And this really did it for us and I’m super, super happy.”

This year’s Dakar route was said to be different from past years. What’s your opinion on the route? Was it more challenging that previous Saudi Dakars? Or somewhat similar?

“This Dakar was definitely, out of the six Dakars I’ve done, this one was definitely the hardest one. But it was fun. It’s so up in the air, nobody runs away with he race. It was a big fight until the end. So, yeah, I enjoyed how hard it was. But we’re here in one piece, and that was the goal. I’ve had a couple years where I didn’t get to the finish line was super disappointing. So getting there (to the finish line) was really cool.”

Discuss for a moment your motorcycle from Hero Motosports, the 450 Rally, and how this year’s model out-performed last year’s model, and the area it did so.

“Hero is a relatively young team and we’ve done so much work and development, even in just this last year that I’ve been with the team, that it’s been great to see the team put so much work into making the bike as competitive as they can. I think this year we just proved that we’re super competitive, and up there to fight for the win. We were really close this year, but yeah, we’re going to keep on pushing. We’ve got a lot of work to do still, but we are there and we are ready for the challenge.”

From MotoGP to American Monster Energy AMA Supercross, there are incredible events around the world, contested by amazing athletes. How do you feel the Dakar Rally relates to other pinnacle forms of two-wheel motorsport?

“The Dakar Rally is the most difficult race in the world for a reason. And it does compare to AMA Supercross and MotoGP. It’s the one race that everyone in the world watches in January. It’s super popular around the world. Put your life on the line every day. 13 days of flat out and intense racing, over terrain you’ve never seen. You know the MotoGP guys know their track. The AMA Supercross guys know their track, know what’s coming. The Dakar’s got its own extremities and it’s really, really tough to do.“

Finally, Dakar’s famous saying “A challenge for those who go. A dream for those who stay behind,” has so much deep meaning. How, in your own words, do you best explain Dakar adventure to your friends and family back home?

“Explaining Dakar? Yeah, it’s probably the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do in my life. It’s super tough just to get to the starting line of your first couple of Dakars. But at the same time it’s the most exciting thing I’ve ever done in my life. And it’s the most rewarding thing I’ve ever done in my life. It’s a race full of ups and downs, highs and lows. But when you get to that finish line it’s such a feeling of accomplishment it’s really cool.”

Thank you, and again, a heartfelt congratulations from everyone at Monster Energy.

“Yes, I just want to thank everyone at Monster for helping me and believing in me. It really means the world to me and I hope to keep making you guys proud, because without you guys this wouldn’t have been possible. So thank you very much.”

Up next…

That concludes the 2024 Dakar Rally. Next up on the FIM World Rally Raid Championship series schedule is the Feb. 25 through March 4 Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge. For more information, including “Live” timing and scoring, visit www.dakar.com