Branch wins Gold!

Local motorcyclist, Ross Branch, was on Friday afternoon officially crowned the 2024 FIM World Rally-Raid (W2RC) Champion in Morocco. He is the first rider from Africa to win the world championship, marking a historic moment for Botswana and for rally raids.

Since the creation of the W2RC in 2022, the FIM and FIA rally-raid world championships have been unified, but the motorbike championship dates back to 2003. In that time, ten riders have etched their names into the FIM history books. Marc Coma holds the record with six titles, while Cyril Despres, Mathias Walkner, Pablo Quintanilla and Sam Sunderland each boast two titles. Other champions, including Pal Ullevålseter, Marek Dąbrowski, Hélder Rodrigues, Paulo Gonçalves and Luciano Benavides, have claimed one title each.

Today, an eleventh name joined this prestigious list. Ross Branch crossed the finish line, and became the first rider from Africa to win the world championship, marking a historic moment for Botswana and for rally raids. His victory would also cement Hero MotoSports’ place in the history of the sport, making it the sixth manufacturer to earn a FIM world title, joining Yamaha, Honda and GasGas, with one title apiece. KTM leads the standings with thirteen championships, far ahead of Husqvarna, which has three