Indian team Hero MotoSports faced highs and lows as the 2025 Dakar Rally kicked off with Stage 1. Reigning World Rally Raid champion Ross Branch and his teammate Jose ‘Nacho’ Cornejo finished in the top 10. However, Hero’s third rider, Sebastian Buhler, was forced to retire after injuring his shoulder.
- Ross Branch finishes third in Stage 1
- Raorane P97, Jain P131
- Takale P37 in Dakar Classic
Dakar 2025: Hero riders in Top 10
The first stage was all about adaptability, featuring a mix of surfaces and shifting tempos. Fresh off his podium finish in the Prologue, Branch continued his impressive form and set the third fastest stage time, 2mins 26secs behind winner Daniel Sanders (KTM). "Stage 1 is done, the rally looks challenging at the start itself and hence, I'm bracing myself for a long and intense Dakar,” said Branch.
“I had a blast today, despite making a couple of silly mistakes early on. Luckily, they didn't cost me too much. I'm just glad to have made it through in one piece, and I'm relieved to hear that my teammate Basti is okay after his crash.”
Cornejo faced the tough task of opening the stage from the 20km mark. But he managed to finish in the top 10, setting the ninth fastest time. Unfortunately, Buhler’s Dakar 2025 journey has come to an end following a heavy crash that left him with an injured shoulder. The Portuguese rider now shifts his focus to recovery, leaving Branch and Cornejo as Hero’s two riders still in the running.
Dakar 2025: Raorane, Jain, Takale make it through
The rest of the Indian contingent also safely made it through Stage 1. With visibility being poor, Ashish Raorane opted to play it safe and finished the stage in 97th place. Jatin Jain, meanwhile, completed his first-ever Dakar Rally stage in 131st place.
Over in the Dakar Classic class, Sanjay Takale scripted history, becoming the first Indian to compete in a Dakar four-wheeler category. Unlike the other classes, where the goal is to complete each stage with the fastest time, Dakar Classic follows a regularity rally (more commonly known as Time-Speed-Distance or TSD) format, where the goal is to complete each stage in a specified time and at a specified average speed. Takale stands 37th in the Dakar Classic standings after Stage 1.
Watch this space for more updates from the 2025 Dakar Rally.
Suraj Viswanathan
