Hero MotoSports Team Rally, the motorsport team of the world’s largest manufacturer of motorcycles and scooters – Hero MotoCorp, completed the 2024 edition of Desafio Ruta 40 with a top-5 result. Hero’s factory rider Ross Branch put up a strong light and finished well in the 5th overall position. Sebastian Buhler finished close behind him in the 7th place, and Nacho Cornejo made it to the 9th position in the Rally GP class standings.
This was the 12th edition of the Desafio Ruta 40, and Team Hero’s second appearance at the race so far. Clocking over 3100 km through some of the most challenging terrains of Central Argentina, the rally also encountered added trials due to the harsh winter in the region. Starting on June 1st in Córdoba – a popular motorsports destination – the rally moved across the different provinces of San Juan and La Rioja, before finally returning to the start city a week later. The race was quite challenging – laid with long liaisons, tough stages through a wide mix of terrains, and puzzling navigation.
At this fourth and penultimate round of the World Rally Raid Championship (W2RC) 2024, the pace among the top competitors was also exceptionally high, as each attempted their best to gather maximum points from this round. Team Hero entered the race with the main goal of defending their World Championship lead titles. With a strong 5th place finish at DR40, Hero pilot Ross Branch has retained his leadership for the 3rd consecutive round this season – now with a 9-point margin over the nearest competitor.
The final stage of the Desafio Ruta 40, 2024 was a 519 km long ride from La Rioja to Córdoba, of which 218 km were timed. Continuing the trend from the week, broken pistes and fast WRC-type tracks also featured on this route. Ross Branch and Sebastian Buhler showed exceptional resilience throughout the week, fighting strongly against the tight competition. On 3 days, the duo were leading the Stages for considerable lengths and finished with solid timings just outside the podium.
Nacho Cornejo, who joined the team in May 2024, struggled to find a good rhythm with his new bike; but with the help of his team, he hopes to reach the next race much stronger. The team also fielded Ramiro Barco as a test rider in the Rally 2 category in this race. Ramiro met with an unfortunate crash in Stage 3 and retired with an injured leg.
Coming up next is the final round of the FIM World Rally Raid Championship 2024 – the Rallye Du Maroc – in October 2024. Hero MotoSports Team Rally will devote the upcoming months to rigorous training and preparations for the final showdown, to reach the last round in the best possible shape.
Ross Branch: “What a great week it has been at Desafio Ruta 40! Excellent route, and a lot of hard work – definitely a tough rally, but I enjoyed it well. Our competition has been really strong here, so we’ve got some work to do before we head to our next race in Morocco. We continue to hold the World Championship lead position, so we’re still in a good place. I look forward to defending it again in the last round. A huge thank you to team Hero MotoSports, for all the hard work put in this week.”
2024 FIM World Rally-Raid Championship Standings (After Round 4)
1. Ross Branch – Hero MotoSports Team Rally 72 points
2. Ricky Brabec – Monster Energy Honda Team 63 points
3. Adrien Van Beveren – Monster Energy Honda Team 56 points
4. Toscha Schareina – Monster Energy Honda Team 45 points
5. Pablo Quintanilla – Monster Energy Honda Team 37 points
