Hero MotoSports Wins A Podium In Stage 2 At Dakar Rally

In the top five were two riders from Hero MotoSports, Buhler, and Branch, while Harith Noah of Sherco finished 34th after repeated crashes.

The 2023 Dakar Rally has gotten off to a solid start for the Indian squad Hero MotoSports, with Sebastian Buhler placing second in Stage 2. Hero had not one but two riders in the top five on the dangerous stage, with Ross Branch coming in fourth. The terrain was primarily rough.

Two Riders from Hero MotoSports are in the Top 5

Buhler has won a stage podium in the Dakar Rally for the first time. As a result, he now occupies the tenth spot overall. "Today proved to be a fruitful one. But since we spent the entire day riding through rocks, it wasn't really a fun day. I was able to get into a solid groove right away, which gave me the motivation I needed to continue. I made a small error that required me to travel back 2 kilometers to check a waypoint before the second refuelling, which cost me time. The second position I've earned and my performance overall, aside from that, make me extremely delighted," he remarked.

Ross Branch finished sixth thanks to a calm approach in Stage 2, which let him recover from his Stage 1 incident. He now occupies position 12 in the standings. Franco Caimi, the following Hero, finished the stage in 14th place and is currently in 16th place overall.

Joaquim Rodrigues got off to a fast start but ran into difficulties with a broken clutch and fuel tank. Nevertheless, he kept going and crossed the line in 23rd place, moving up to 17th overall.

Harith Noah pushes forward

Harith Noah of Sherco, the lone Indian rider taking part in Dakar Rally 2023, found Stage 2 to be challenging as well. He was forced to manually scroll his roadbook through an already challenging area.

Despite two crashes, the Indian continued and came in 34th (32nd in the overall ranking). The Indian wrote on social media, “I bruised my elbow in the two collisions I had, but I recuperated for another tough day with 447 km.” he continued.

Winners of Stage 2: Klein, Al-Attiyah

Despite receiving a two-minute speeding fine, KTM's Mason Klein set the fastest time. He won his first Dakar stage with this, making history.

In the automobile division, incumbent champion Nasser Al-Attiyah of Toyota won the stage to cut into Audi driver Carlos Sainz's overall lead. After getting three flat tyres while racing for Bahrain Raid Xtreme, Sebastian Loeb came in considerably outside the top 30.

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