Thixton to take a leaf off the Branch

ASHLEY Thixton is not taking any chances in his preparations and participation in the 2024 Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia.

With the clock now fast ticking down to the start of the toughest and biggest motor rally in the world, Thixton has decided to exchange some notes with one of the seasoned campaigners of the Dakar Rally — Ross Branch of Botswana.

Speaking to Zimpapers Sports, Thixton said he will soon be travelling to Botswana to meet up with the Dakar Rally legend Branch “to take on some road books as (part of) my final preparations for Dakar 2024.”

Branch has seen it all when it comes to participating in the Dakar Rally and getting some tips from him will be ideal for Zimbabwean biker Thixton who is set to make his debut appearance at this gruelling event which is set to run from January 5 to 19 in the sand dunes of Saudi Arabia.

Branch’s record at the Dakar Rally is impeccable. In 2019, for his first Dakar outing, he finished as the “best rookie” with an impressive 13th place.

This year Botswana’s most celebrated motorsport sensation Branch led his new team, Hero Motorsport, to the best-ever Dakar Rally historical finish at the 45th edition held in Saudi Arabia.

Branch returned to Saudi as a new member of the Indian-based team alongside three other teammates, Franco Caimi, Joaquim Rodrigues and Sebastian Buhler who all contributed massively to the success of the team this year.

The Hero Motorsport entourage finished in the top 10 overall, a stage podium and recorded two stage wins through the Botswana native Branch in stage eight and 10 of the competition.

Buhler finished the last stage (14) in 6th place while Caimi and Branch finished in 13th and 14th places in individual races respectively.

The 2023 Dakar Rally was Branch’s first Dakar with Hero Motorsport, which was appearing for the seventh time in the tough competition, after he suffered a crash in stage four of the rally where he wasted hours with an empty fuel tank due to fuel injection issues on his bike.

The fuel issue minimised his chances for good results in the overall standings. Nonetheless, he pushed hard and won two stages in three days as he closed up the gap he lost in stage four.

In a post-race interview with Gazette Sports of Botswana, Branch said had the mishap not occurred in stage four, he would have been a contender for the top prize with his four top five and three top 10 performances.

“It is sad that I finished 16th overall, which was not the desired results, but I had to accept how things turned out,” he said. “The good thing is that I know the reason I finished 16th and I have learnt from that mistake. I am not going to give up because I grasp something in every edition, which usually helps me to always come back stronger.

“However, I am happy with the team’s overall top 10 finish. We all worked hard as a team and we intend to do good in future races. I return home a happy man because I managed two stage wins for the first time since I debuted in the Dakar Rally years ago.

“I am also grateful for the support and love I got from motorsport fans across the world. They motivated me to give my best.”

Popularly known as “The Kalahari Ferrari,” Branch rode for the KTM Off-Road Racing Team in 2018/19 where he won the Best Rookie award in his Dakar Rally debut.

He went on to represent Monster Energy Yamaha Racing and became the first stage winner from Botswana after taking the stage 2 victory at the Dakar Rally 2020.

He told Gazette Sports that he intends to compete more often in international events in order to advance his skills and maintain his momentum.

“It is very important to continue competing against my rivals in other events so I can measure my progress heading into the next Dakar Rally,” he said. “I will be setting my eye on the top prize next year and am confident that I will do well.”

Nicknamed the “Kalahari Ferrari” by Botswana fans, in a nod to a fast local donkey drawn cart, Branch is a star back home, having won every possible local motocross and cross-country championship.

In 2019, for his first Dakar Rally outing, he finished as the “best rookie” with an impressive 13th place. It is hard to find a more enthusiastic, more positive rider in the bivouac.

He’s living the dream and he doesn’t mind who knows it. On the 2020 Dakar Rally he won his first special stage before finishing in 21st place — enough to get himself noticed by the Yamaha factory team.

But that 2021 edition, his first as a factory rider, didn’t go according to plan . . . and three days after making it to the rest day in the Top 5 it ended in tears.

A “stupid” crash and a rear sprocket ripped off the hub ended his hopes of finishing the Dakar in style.

Last season, in addition to flying at least twice a week as a commercial airline pilot, Branch competed in three rounds of the FIM World Cross Country Championship. The season started perfectly with a win in Kazakhstan, his first international success. Branch followed that up with a 10th place on the Silkway before rounding off the season with a 25th place in Morocco.

In January, Branch injured his leg after a big crash on stage 6.

TheTswana started again the next day, even posting the 12th fastest time, before withdrawing from the race, in too much pain to continue.

At the end of the Dakar, Yamaha let “the Ferrari” go to join the ranks of Hero Motorsports.

There he was reunited with his former teammate Franco Caimi, who has been with Hero since April 2021.

The second round of the W2RC was a double first for Branch, who simultaneously discovered both the Abu Dhabi race and his new Indian Hero bike for the first time under race conditions, with a modest 13 th place for his trouble. A transition season for the Tswana who brought the Hero team numbers up to four, just like their W2RC rivals.