New Delhi: Hero MotoSports Team Rally Friday announced its four-rider line-up for the 2023 edition of the Dakar Rally.
Following an unprecedented 2022, when it became the first Indian manufacturer’s team to win a stage at the prestigious rally, the upcoming edition will be the team’s seventh consecutive appearance at the Dakar.
At Dakar 2023, the team will have a rider squad of four members — Franco Caimi, Joaquim Rodrigues, Ross Branch, and Sebastian Buhler — two of them being Dakar stage winners.
Hero MotoSports Team Rally has had consistent performances during the 2022 racing season. The team spent several months in training and testing around the world. Team riders Caimi and Buhler returned to racing after several months of recovery from their crashes in 2021.
This is the seventh Dakar for Joaquim Rodrigues (JRod), who won a stage at the Dakar 2022. With the team since its inception in 2016, JRod’s performances at the inaugural season of the World Rally Raid Championship (W2RC) were consistent and he is returning to Saudi Arabia with the hopes of rewriting his success.
It will be the first Dakar for Ross Branch in Hero MotoSports Team Rally colours after coming on board in February 2022.
Ross, however, is no stranger to the Dakar, having participated in the rally on four previous occasions, and achieving a stage win in 2020.
PTI
