Interview With World Rally-Raid Title Contender Ross Branch

Currently leading the World Rally-Raid rankings, Ross Branch is all-in for his maiden world title. Excellent performances at the first four events of the year; Branch currently leads the rankings but needs to clinch the world title at the last event in Morocco.

First of all, what is Rally-Raid? To put it in simple terms,

Rally-Raid is a form of cross-country rally racing, but it is an extended form of rally racing conducted on off-road courses that sometimes traverse across more than one country. A race can be between 3 and fifteen full days of racing. At times, drivers travel up to 900 km in a day. The winner is the driver with the lowest accumulated course time.

The World Rally-Raid tour consists of five events, with all results counting.

Currently holding 72 points, Ross only needs to finish above Ricky Brabec, who has 62 points, in the Rallye du Maroc in Morocco from October 4th to 11th.

Ross has a great story, starting when he was four.

"I started racing bikes at 4 in a tiny town in Botswana called Jwaneng. My dad and I used to ride every day."

When he's not racing, Ross is flying—literally. He is a pilot for Mack Air and spends his time in the skies over the Okavango Delta.
 

"I race bikes for a living and fly aeroplanes part-time when I'm not racing. I fly for a company called Mack Air in the Okavango Delta."

The Monster Energy rider is the Great Outdoors type of person.

"I love anything outdoors, so in my spare time, we often go camping in the bush. And I love playing golf, so I still try to play whenever I get a gap." 

Exercise, diet and fitness are crucial in Rally-Raid, which Ross puts his heart into.

"Whenever I'm training, I do long-distance stuff to prepare physically and mentally. Dakar is a mental game. Diet-wise, I work with a trainer based in Portugal. Russel White. We have different diets throughout the year depending on what races are coming up."

Ross, Monster Energy and Hero MotoSports

"I started my rally career in 2019. I did the first Dakar Rally in 2019 in Peru. Then, in 2021, I signed with the Monster Energy Yamaha World Rally-Raid Championship team.

When Yamaha decided to have a break from Rally-Raid, I was lucky enough to sign with Hero. It was a new step. I didn't know what to expect. They were from India, and we had never seen them in off-road racing or motocross, so it was a massive step for me. We're all family now, and the team has a great vibe."

It's a simple belief that keeps Ross on top of his game.

"I go through life with this uncomplicated motto: Never give up. Never, ever give up."

Some serious breakneck speeds have been attained in Dakar.

"They have now put a speed limit on Dakar of 160kph, and we get to that speed quickly. But before the speed limit was introduced, we could get speeds up to 190kph."

Ross's Rally-Raid equipment and navigation skills put to the test.
 

"My Hero 450cc off-road bike weighs 180kg and has a fuel capacity of 34 litres. This allows us to cover about 280km. We use a roadbook map, and no GPS is used, so the navigation is challenging, especially if you are the first person on the road."

The next couple of years are going to be super-exciting.

"In Rally Rally-Raid racing, if you make a small mistake with the navigation, it puts you back a long way and is hard to catch up. I have made tiny mistakes before, and that cost us dearly. Everybody is going so fast! All the guys are super strong now, and winning races is so tricky. Still, I want to be on top, that's for sure."