As one of the bikers to keep an eye on, Branch has hit it off at the rally on the wrong foot as results are not on his side. Prior to stage 3, the local biker finished in position seven consecutively where in a separate race he was docked six minutes. In today’s race, he moved one position up from his two previous races.
Fresh off from the race, Branch crucified himself stating that he made several mistakes that he could have avoided. “This is definitely not my best stage for Dakar, that’s for sure. i made some stupid mistakes and it was erratic,” Branch blasted himself.
Branch further pointed out that he could have done better in some moments of the race. “I didn’t fix my problems quick enough and I was trying to push the limit all the time, and I had a couple of crashes. (I) rode mostly with my knees on handle bars cause i was hitting so many rocks,” Branch said.
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Alhough Branch is dismayed about today’s performances, he has eyes fixed on tomorrow’s race hoping to improve his performance. “I am looking forward to tomorrow and there is not much to report on today except that I really suck but we will fix it tomorrow,” Branch said. Branch finished in position six with a time of 4:37:17 while position one went to Tosha Schareina who clocked 4:26:39.
The crimes detailed elsewhere in this edition from the loss of a former minister to the heartbreaking murder of a child, and public arson to relentless gender-based violence, paint a distressing picture of a society under strain.These are not isolated tragedies. They are a collective alarm bell, ringing out as we enter a period meant for peace and goodwill.The festive season, while a time of joy, can also amplify existing pressures.
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