The world’s best riders were invited on 7th December 2024 to the Convention Centre of Palma on the Spanish island of Majorca. The FIM (Fédération internationale de motocyclisme) celebrated the winners of more than 50 titles awarded in its disciplines during its prestigious prize ceremony in the presence of its chairman Jorge Viegas.
Launched in 2022, the World Rally-Raid Championship is establishing itself year upon year as one of the FIM’s flourishing competitions. The third edition of the W2RC lived up to all its promises over the five races contested, with suspense right up until the last day.
Ross Branch (Hero MotoSports Team Rally) found a way to combine speed and consistency, finishing in the top 5 on each of the five legs. This strategy allowed him to take the title ahead of the squadron of the Monster Energy Honda Team, which won the constructor’s rankings.
The third chapter of the W2RC confirmed the constant growth and expansion of the championship since it was founded in 2022. Bivouacs made a comeback on the European continent with the BP Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal, a newcomer to the calendar alongside the Dakar, Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, Desafio Ruta 40 and Rallye du Maroc. In total, 67 riders from 30 different countries took part in at least one of the season’s five races as FIM competitors enrolled for the W2RC, which is an increase on 2023, further reinforcing the place occupied by the W2RC on the international motorcycle sport scene.
Branch vs. Honda all year long!
The Dakar is the season’s longest race and the one that awards the most points, with 38 given to the winner. Pretenders to the world title are all well aware that the year’s first vent is essential in the quest for a gold medal on the W2RC. This was not a fact ignored by Ricky Brabec (Monster Energy Honda Team), who was W2RC runner-up in 2022. His first success of the year came in January, as he withstood the pressure from Ross Branch and Adrien Van Beveren (Monster Energy Honda Team). After a second place in Yanbu, the man from Botswana repeated the feat on the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, this time finishing behind his team-mate Aaron Mare, giving Hero a historical one-two finish. Thanks to his consistency, Branch took the lead in the championship.
Due to trailing on the leaderboard, the Honda riders had the sole obsession of winning everything they could to catch up with the ‘Kalahari Ferrari’. HRC began this quest by winning the BP Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal with Tosha Schareina, before accomplishing an unprecedented 1-2-3 on the Desafio Ruta 40 (Brabec in 1st, Schareina in 2nd and VBA in 3rd). Branch was already focused on controlling his lead and finished 5th on the Portuguese and Argentine events. As a result, he arrived at the last leg, the Rallye du Maroc, with a lead of 9 points over Brabec and 16 over Van Beveren.
However, the American, who was second in the championship classification at the start of the final leg, fell and withdrew from the race on the first stage, leaving Branch in a comfortable position but still with almost 2,000 kilometres to cover to get to the finishing line. He applied himself to riding skilfully, took care with his machine and avoided any pitfalls to reach Mengoub/Bouârfa. Branch finished third among the riders enrolled in the W2RC and was crowned champion, 12 points ahead of Van Beveren and 18 in front of Schareina. The year’s Hero wrote the Indian brand and Botswana into the history books, offering the country in the southern tip of the African continent its first FIM title. Honda won the constructor’s championship for the third consecutive year, with a new record of 193 points.
A thousand guests were present at the Convention Centre of Palma to celebrate the winners of more than 50 FIM world titles awarded this season. Ross Branch strode down the red carpet alongside dozens of other champions in attendance for the occasion. He was one of the event’s stars, thanks to his ranking in the ‘Ultimate Champions’ category, with Toni Bou (TrialGP), Josep Garcia (EnduroGP), Bartosz Zmarzlik (SpeedwayGP), Jorge Prado (MXGP), Toprak Razgatlioglu (Superbike) and Jorge Martin (MotoGP™). The man from Botswana received his medal from FIM chairman Jorge Viegas.
QUOTES
Ross Branch, 2024 FIM W2RC world champion: “Being here is a dream come true after an incredible 2024 season! Achieving a good result on the Dakar was really important to establish our strategy for the rest of the year. The most important things were to be consistent, finish all the races and avoid making any big mistakes. We fought a great battle and I’m so happy. The Hero MotoSports Team Rally has worked so hard over so many years. They are like a family for me and it’s great to win this title for them. It’s also special for Botswana. It’s a small country – there are only 2.6 million of us – so having a motorcycling world champion is fantastic. I can’t wait to ride with number 1 on my bike, which was also one of my dreams. We haven’t taken a break, we're training hard and we’re looking forward to another great season in 2025”.
Ruben Faria, Managing Director of Monster Energy Honda Team, 2024 FIM W2RC constructors’ champion: “It’s the third year that the W2RC has been running and the third consecutive time we have won this title! Winning the riders’ championship is one thing, but for the constructors’ championship, you need to have a well-structured organisation to score plenty of points with several competitors. This title shows that the combination between riders, mechanics and the management is working. The team is working very well, we’re proud of this success and we’ll continue in the same vein in 2025. We’ll do our utmost to win again, starting with the Dakar in January!”
Jorge Viegas, FIM President: “Bringing together so many of our FIM World Champions always ensures a very special occasion and the 2024 FIM Awards have provided the perfect conclusion to the FIM’s one-hundred-and-twentieth anniversary year. Palma de Mallorca has proved to be a fantastic venue, made possible with the support of the RFME. I would like to thank every single person who has contributed in any way to making the 2024 season such a huge success. Tonight, it has been the perfect way to celebrate it and bring it to a close, though we are already looking ahead to 2025 and putting plans in place to make it even better.”David Castera, W2RC Promoter: “Endurance and consistency are qualities inherent to rally-raid racing and this season Ross Branch gave a relentless illustration of this. Finishing the five races in the top 5 of the W2RC enrolled riders was the key to winning a deserved title. He’s a fine champion, a fine ambassador for the sport and much appreciated on the bivouac. Well done to him and Hero for this historical success, as well as to Honda who defended their constructors’ title. The 2024 season has come to a close, but 2025 is just around the corner with a first event at the beginning of January! We will be keeping the number of legs on the calendar at five, including one new one in South Africa, showing that the W2RC is maintaining its pillars while extending its reach to new horizons”.
FIM STATS: not one, not two, but three continents!
The W2RC roll of honour pays witness to the diversity and plurality of the championship. The FIM’s first three seasons have been won by three riders from three different continents riding for three different constructors. Europe was the first to triumph thanks to British biker Sam Sunderland (riding for GasGas in 2022), followed by South America in the guise of Luciano Benavides (for Husqvarna in 2023). The man from Botswana Ross Branch has now allowed Africa and Hero to write a new page in rally-raid history. Whose turn will it be in 2025?
THE FIM WINNERS IN THE 2024 W2RC:
- RallyGP World Championship: Ross Branch (BWA – Hero MotoSports Team Rally)
- Constructors’ World Championship: Monster Energy Honda Team
- Rally2 World Cup: Bradley Cox (ZAF – BAS World KTM Racing Team)
- Rally3 World Cup: John Medina Salazar (CHL – Xraids Experience)
- Quad World Cup: Manuel Andújar (ARG – 7240 Team / Drag’on Rally Service)
- Rally2 Junior Trophy: Konrad Dąbrowski (POL - Duust Rally Team)
- Veteran’s Trophy: Sebastián Alberto Urquía (ARG - Xraids Experience)
