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Mare Wins Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge Rally S outh African Aaron Mare, who was a last-minute substitute for the injured Hero factory rider, Sebastian Buhler (who crashed dur- ing the Dakar Rally), won the 33rd addition to the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge (ADDC). It's his first ca - reer win in the FIA World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC) and the first for Indian manufacturer Hero. After four days of competing, Mare held a nearly five-minute lead at the finish over Poland's Konrad Dabrowski of the Duust Rally Team, who held a 4 minute, 56 second lead over his team - mate, French rider Jean-Loup Lepan. Mare's teammate, Ross Branch, was fourth overall. "I'm super happy to get the overall victory at ADDC," Mare said. "I can't thank Hero Mo - toSports, Waffi and the team enough for getting me up here. It was an amazing opportunity, and I made the most of it. I was also fortunate to ride along with Ross Branch who came fresh from his Dakar podium and learned a lot from him. We were teammates several years back, and it was a wonderful time spent with him here. I look forward to the up - coming races in the year." Wolfgang Fischer, Team Manager & Head of Hero Moto- Sports Team Rally, said, "We are very happy to be at the finish line as winners of this iconic race! As a team, our achievement is triple-fold—it's our first victory at a World Championship race, it's the first time we are leading the World Championship Rider rankings with Ross, and it's also the first time Hero is leading the Manufacturer rankings in a World Champion - ship! It has been a roller-coaster week for us—a last-minute re - placement for Se- bastian and then delayed arrival of our bikes from customs. How - ever, I am really happy with how Aaron stepped up to the challenge and did a won - derful job all through the race, bringing us this fantastic result. Ross was also able to earn the maximum points in the World Championship. I'm extremely happy with what the team has achieved, and look forward to the rest of the season." Fourth overall went to stage five (final) winner Branch, who suffered mechanical issues on day one that required an engine change that came with a 15-min - ute time penalty, and Czech rider Jan Brabec (Strojrent Racing) rounded out the top five overall. Mare and Branch had three stage wins each, which included the Prologue (won by Branch). However, with the absence of most of the factory teams, Branch's points haul catapults him to the top of the World Rally-Raid Champion - ship, 12 points clear of Dakar win- ner Ricky Brabec, while Mare climbs to third place in the standings thanks to his maiden win. Adrien Van Beveren (Honda) and Jose Ignacio "Nacho" Cornejo (Honda) are 4-5 in the championship. "This was a bittersweet rally for me," said Branch. "After our setback in stage one, we man - aged to gather up the maximum championship points, which was our main objective. I got to the finish line safely, and I'm happy with how the race went. I got to open the stages on several days, won a couple of stages, had a lot of fun and gained some more experience. We will now head to Portugal on a high!" Factory teams Honda, KTM, GasGas, Husqvarna, Sherco and others did not compete, hav - ing elected to participate in just select rounds of the champion- ship. CN OVERALL (Top 5) 1. Aaron Mare (Hero MotoSports Team Rally) 16:36:13 2. Konrad Dabrowski (Duust Rally Team) + 04:56 3. Jean-Loup Lepan (Duust Rally Team) + 19:27 4. Ross Branch (Hero MotoSports Team Rally) + 39:55 5. Jan Brabec (Strojrent Racing) + 01:47:37 WIND IN THE P46 South African Aaron Mare was a last-minute substitute for the factory Hero team and ended up winning the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge Rally.