Arduous Test for Man and Machine

The story of Hero MotoSports Team Rally's tribulations and triumphs at the 2025 Dakar Rally, the team's ninth outing in the world's toughest rally-raid event

- Sayantan De

AFTER A LONG AND WINDING road, Team Hero MotoSports claimed their first-ever podium in the Dakar Rally in 2024, with Ross Branch finishing second and winning the 2024 FIM World Rally-Raid Championship. This year, they went in with high hopes, their squad comprising Ross Branch, Jose Ignacio Comejo Florimo (better known as Nacho Cornejo), and Sebastian Bühler.

Prologue Stage

Team Hero MotoSports opened their ninth Dakar rally strongly as defending FIM World Rally Raid champion Ross Branch (1) finished in second position, just 12 seconds behind Daniel Sanders of KTM Factory Racing. The other Team Hero MotoSports riders, Sebastian Bühler (#14) and Nacho Cornejo (11), finished in ninth and 20th places respectively.

Stage One

Branch finished the 500-kilometre loop in third place, 22 seconds behind Ricky Brabec (Honda), while Daniel Sanders (KTM) held on to the lead. Cornejo kept ninth place in the rankings for the Prologue Stage. Unfortunately, a momentary lapse of reason caused Sebastian Buhler to hit a rock and he crashed, breaking his collarbone, which ended the rally for him.

Stage Two

Stage Two was the fearsome Chrono Stage wherein competitors were required to stop at 5.00 pm at the nearest of the six designated rest areas, completely isolated from the outside world. The next day, the racers had to resume their taxing trek through the desert at 7.00 am. Both riders made it to the fifth rest area, Break Point E, 609 km into the Chrono Stage. They still had 338 km to go before the end of the stage, which they eventually finished in fifth and 12th positions respectively. At this point, Branch was in third place and Cornejo was in ninth.