RACE SUMMARY

Hero MotoSports Team Rally, the motorsport team of the world’s largest manufacturer of motorcycles and scooters - Hero MotoCorp, completed the 11th Stage of the Dakar Rally 2023 with two riders finishing in the top-10 ranks.

Sebastian Buhler led the team today with a strong 6th place, having crossed the finish line just 5 minutes behind the winner. Franco Caimi followed right behind, finishing in the 8th position, claiming his third consecutive top-10 finish. Ross Branch who opened the stage today finished 16th among Rally GP class riders.

Riding into the unknown territories of the Empty Quarter, the three Hero MotoSports riders rode with caution, and reached the bivouac safe. The first day of the marathon stage today was a 428 km ride from Shaybah, of which 274 kms formed the timed special. The stage was 100% dunes, and even though they had fun, the riders took extreme care to avoid any mistakes in the stage. As part of the tricky marathon stage, the competitors are devoid of any access to assistance trucks or mechanics at the bivouac, and any mechanical issues for their bikes will need to be serviced by the riders themselves.

Sebastian Buhler put in a great pace right from the start of the stage, staying in the top-5 at most of the check points, before finally crossing the finish line 6th. This is the fourth top-10 performance so far for the young German. However, having suffered some technical mishaps earlier in the race, Buhler finds himself at the 17th overall position in the Rally GP class standings.

Franco Caimi’s consistent performance since the start of the Rally is highly commendable, and his third consecutive top-10 finish today helps him move one more position up to the 12th place in the overall Rally GP class rankings.

Ross Branch, who claimed his second Stage victory of the race yesterday, knew opening Stage 11 in the empty quarter was going to be tough. He lost some time finding his way through the sea of steep dunes, and still managed to finish the 280 km stage just 12 minutes behind the winner. However, the couple of hours lost due to technical issues in earlier stages holds Branch back at the 19th position in the Rally GP class overall standings.