Hero MotoSports’ Ross Branch holds on to third place overall as the 2025 Dakar Rally reaches the halfway mark. The Indian team put up a strong performance in the two marathon stages, with Jose ‘Nacho’ Cornejo even securing podium finishes in both.
However, it wasn’t all smooth sailing for the Indian contingent. While Jatin Jain and Sanjay Takale remain in contention in their respective categories, Ashish Raorane is out of the running.
- Branch at P3, Cornejo P9 overall
- Jatin Jain P99
- Sanjay Takale stands at P23 in Dakar Classic
Dakar 2025: Cornejo secures stage podium for Hero
It’s been a challenging first half of Dakar 2025, with the 48H Chrono stage followed immediately by the two marathon stages where competitors can’t receive any outside assistance. Hero MotoSports’ Cornejo navigated the challenging rocky and sandy terrain well to finish third in both stages. With this, he holds on to ninth place overall.
“We arrived with a lot of confidence on the bike, although ninth place isn't where I want like to be in the overall standings in the end. I'm motivated to make up ground in the second week,” he said.
Branch also holds on to third place in the overall standings. The reigning World Rally-Raid champion lost some time after making a navigation error in Stage 4. But he bounced back, finishing Stage 5 with the fourth fastest time.
After a rest day, the second leg of the rally gets underway on January 11. The second week of Dakar 2025 will see longer stages than the first week, with the 605km-long Stage 6 setting the tone.
Dakar 2025: Raorane withdraws
After suffering multiple crashes in Stage 3, Ashish Raorane was unable to start Stage 4. “I had lost quite a bit of strength in my upper body due to multiple crashes in Stage 3 and [was] finding it difficult to hold onto the handlebars in technical terrain,” he explained on his Instagram page.
“My stage start for SS4 was quite late, which would have meant riding some treacherous terrain in the dark. Given the 415km length and technical nature of the stage, I had to make this very heavy decision. For more than five years, I have chased the Dakar dream, which has consumed my personal and financial life. So, this was probably the toughest decision I’ve ever made in my life.”
We still have one Indian rider running in the Bikes category: Jatin Jain is up to P99 overall after some consistent running in the marathon stages.
Dakar 2025: Takale up to 23rd
Sanjay Takale continues his upward trajectory in the Dakar Classic class, which follows a regularity rally (more commonly known as Time-Speed-Distance or TSD) format. Driving a Toyota Land Cruiser HZJ 78, he finished seventh in Stage 3 – marking India’s first top 10 finish in Dakar Classic.
Together with his co-driver Maxime Raud, he’s currently 23rd overall. Watch this space for more updates from Dakar 2025.
Suraj Viswanathan
