Botswana’s desert racing star Ross Branch has signalled a strong return to form after securing seventh place overall at the punishing Rally Raid Portugal, using the demanding European round to rebuild confidence and fitness following his Dakar injury.
Competing for Hero MotoSports, Branch delivered a week of composed and consistent riding across nearly 2,200 kilometres of wet, technical and constantly changing terrain in Portugal and Spain. The result lifts him to eighth in the World Rally-Raid Championship standings with 23 points after two rounds, keeping him firmly in the early title fight.
The rally proved far from straightforward. Heavy rain turned mountain sections into treacherous mud and slick rock, forcing riders into survival mode. Branch revealed he suffered a major scare early in one stage when he slid off a mountain shortly after the start.
“The rain obviously made it really hard and difficult to go fast and obviously to be safe… unfortunately, 20 kilometres into the stage I hit a slippery patch and I slid off the side of one of the mountains. I went down to the bottom, so it took me a little bit of time to get back up and I lost a bit of time there,” he said.
Despite the crash, the Botswanan regrouped quickly and achieved his key objective of finishing strongly, placing fifth in the RallyGP class and seventh overall. The performance marked an important milestone in his comeback after breaking his scaphoid during the Dakar Rally last year.
“After Dakar was really tough for me… I had surgery on my scaphoid in my wrist to fix that. Obviously, I had no time to prepare, I only did two days of riding before Portugal,” Branch said. “Mentally I’m super happy… last year was a disaster year for me… so to finish the first two rounds of the World Championship and be in a good position, I’m really happy.”
Branch’s campaign in Portugal was built on steady progress. He opened with 10th in the Prologue before finishing fourth on Stage 1 around Grândola in wet conditions. He followed with 10th on the rain-soaked Stage 2 in Spain’s Extremadura region, sixth on Stage 3 near Badajoz, and ninth during the marathon 639 km Stage 4 into Loulé, setting up his overall top-10 finish.
The championship now heads to Argentina for the Desafío Ruta 40, a race Branch says suits his riding style but brings a different challenge.
“The biggest challenge for Argentina is the cold weather… sometimes there is ice and there is snow on top of the mountains. But riding the terrain in Portugal where it was so slippery will help us and give us a little bit more confidence,” he said.
With momentum building and fitness improving, the Botswanan remains focused on the bigger picture. “We’d still like to win the championship and that’s still possible, so that’s the main goal for us.”
After a year disrupted by injury, Portugal may prove the turning point in Branch’s 2026 world title push.
