2025 South African Safari Rally Stage 1: Hero MotoSports’ Ross Branch wins after dramatic reshuffle

Hero MotoSports kicked off their 2025 South African Safari Rally campaign with a bang as Ross Branch won Stage 1 after a dramatic day of racing and post-stage penalties. The Botswana rider showed exceptional pace and control throughout the 222km timed special, fending off fierce competition from the factory Hondas and Red Bull KTM riders. Just slightly behind on pace, Teammate Jose Ignacio Cornejo remains within striking distance of the leaders after a steady ride that places him just outside the top 5 in the overall standings. Team’s new joiner, Tobias Ebster, also had a solid day finishing 2nd in the Rally2 class.

Solid start for Branch and Nacho

The day started with the spotlight on Nacho Cornejo, who set the early benchmark at the 18km mark, leading by 24 seconds over teammate Ross Branch. However, as the terrain transitioned from savannah to the unforgiving black turf and hard tracks, it was Branch who surged ahead. By the 68km mark, the Hero rider had taken control of the stage, trading places with Cornejo.

Branch maintained a searing pace through the technical and varied terrain. He extended his lead over closest rivals like Honda’s Adrien Van Beveren and Tosha Schareina at every time check, even as KTM’s Daniel Sanders began clawing back time after a slow start. At the 153km mark, Branch widened the gap to Van Beveren to 29 seconds, and Schareina was trailing by over three minutes.

The Hero rider continued to push through the 190km mark, keeping Honda’s Ricky Brabec at bay by just under a minute. But as the special neared its end, Brabec mounted a late-stage charge. At the 220km mark, the gap between Branch and Brabec had narrowed to a mere 6 seconds, with Sanders also looming just 50 seconds behind.

Finish

In a nail-biting conclusion with the top riders finishing very close, Sanders edged out both Branch and Brabec at the finish line, who finished tied on the times. Sanders was later handed a two-minute penalty for a missed waypoint. This shuffled the order, elevating Brabec to the provisional stage win as he had the faster prologue time over Branch.

But the day’s final twist came late in the evening, when multiple riders were credited back time after a stage review. Ross Branch emerged as the official Stage 1 winner, with a 50-second margin over Van Beveren and 1 minute 3 seconds over Brabec. Sanders dropped to fourth after the penalty. Nacho finished 6th in Stage 1 and now sits 7th in the overall standings.

Tobias Ebster impresses

Meanwhile, in the Rally2 class, Hero MotoSports’ latest signing, Tobias Ebster, made an impressive debut. The Austrian rider, fresh off his promotion to the factory team, rode a measured but aggressive stage, gradually reeling in more experienced rivals. While Red Bull KTM’s Edgar Canet eventually won the stage, Ebster was just 12 seconds behind at the finish. The Austrian showed serious pace throughout, especially in the latter half of the stage, where he closed the gap dramatically on the lead. With this result, Ebster now sits second in the Rally2 overall standings and ninth in the overall bike standings.

The marathon stage is next

Now the eyes are on Stage 2 – a 356km timed special that forms Part 1 of the two-day marathon stage. Riders will head into the wild without any service assistance at the end of the day, testing speed, skill, endurance, and mechanical know-how. Hero MotoSports enters the second day of the Safari Rally with momentum firmly on their side.