Ross Branch will miss the Rallye du Maroc 2026 after a training crash. José Ignacio “Nacho” Cornejo will therefore be Hero MotoSports’ only rider in the RallyGP category. The team remains broader in scope, though: more Hero riders are entered in Rally2.
As of 27 September 2026. Preview of the Rallye du Maroc, 28 September to 3 October.
Branch must sit out Morocco
The withdrawal hits Hero shortly before the next World Championship round. Branch was injured in a crash in training and will not be fit enough by the start in Morocco. Team sponsor Monster Energy also confirms he is out following a testing accident. Source: Monster Energy.
The statement quoted does not explain what injury Branch suffered. According to MX Vice, his rehabilitation has already begun, and the rider is looking ahead to a return in 2027. No specific date for a full recovery can be derived from this. Source: MX Vice, 23 September 2026.
A world champion is missing
With Branch, Hero loses one of its most important riders for this event. The Botswanan became 2024 FIM Rally-Raid World Champion and finished the Dakar that same year in second place. His sporting achievements make clear that more is missing here than an additional starter. Source: official Hero rider profile.
Branch clinched the world title at the season finale in Morocco, of all places. Cornejo supported him there on the way to the title. Now Cornejo lines up as Hero’s only rider in the top motorcycle category. Source: Hero race report from 2024.
Cornejo alone in RallyGP – Hero still in Rally2
The distinction matters: Hero is not travelling to Morocco with just one motorcycle. Cornejo takes on the RallyGP entry; Michael Docherty and Shlok Ghorpade are listed as Hero starters in Rally2. Branch’s absence therefore shrinks the line-up in the top class, not the whole team down to one rider. Source: 131 Off-Road, 24 September 2026.
Nacho Cornejo is Hero’s sole RallyGP representative in Morocco. Official team portrait. Image source: Hero MotoSports.
What the absence means for preparation
In sporting terms, Hero lack a second RallyGP rider and his feedback under race conditions. For Cornejo, the smaller line-up means more responsibility for the result in this category. It does not, however, mean that he lacks his team’s technical support.
With sand, stony sections and demanding navigation, Morocco offers an important stress test. With the Dakar in mind, how reliably the motorcycle and procedures work also counts. Branch loses this opportunity to test the latest developments in competition himself.
For Branch, recovery now comes first; for Cornejo, a clean rally. A good week in Morocco could help Hero in sporting terms and in preparation. It would still not replace a second experienced RallyGP rider.
Image credits
- Ross Branch: official rider portrait, provided on Hero MotoSports; original image. No photographer is named in the presentation on the team website.
- Nacho Cornejo: official rider portrait, provided on Hero MotoSports; original image. No photographer is named in the presentation on the team website.
- Banner: AI-designed editorial collages based on the Hero portraits named. Logo templates: Hero MotoSports Team Rally and OLA Energy Rallye du Maroc. The desert background is generated; the collages are not joint on-location photographs of the riders.