The Ministry of Environment, Natural Resource Conservation and Tourism has hailed talented local motorsport champion, Ross Branch for his outstanding representation for country and display at the just ended 2019 Dakar Rally in Peru, South America.
“I stand here today to convey to you, “Kalahari Ferrari”, accolades from Batswana for hoisting the national flag high and making the nation proud. Ross, displays so much positive energy, resilience and oozes a lot of confidence even before the race starts. As we followed online updates, there was no doubt that Ross would do well,” said Onkokame Mokaila, Minister of Environment, Natural Resource Conservation and Tourism.
He said, “Being pronounced winner of the Rookies Category was the cherry on the icing. Congratulations Ross! Your win does not come as sheer luck, for you have worked your way up, making huge sacrifices to develop and perfect your bike riding skills.”
Mokaila maintained the name Ross Branch evokes a lot of positive memories from my previous days as the Minister responsible for the tourism sector, with the launch of the Khawa Dune Challenge and Cultural Festival in 2012. Khawa is one event that fills tourism officials with joy, as it has always been the Botswana government’s dream to diversify tourism through sports, amongst others.
The establishment of Khawa was following the successful partnership between the Tourism Ministry and the Four (4) Wheel Drive Club of Southern African at the time, for the Toyota Desert Race which saw the event brand growing from strength to strength, until it eventually got accredited as a feeder race to the Dakar Rally as one of four such events globally.
“You have always been a part of these events conquering them year on year. It is for this reason that Botswana Tourism Organisation, engaged you to train Khawa village youngsters through what came to be called the Khawa Motorsport Academy because we were confident that the young boys and girls, with potential and enthusiasm for the sport, would be inspired by your discipline and resultant string of victories,” noted Mokaila.
Branch’s successful debut participation in Peru will go a long way in motivating local riders, to keep pushing forward their dream in motorsport, following in the footsteps of yet another champion Vincent Crosbie who raced the Dakar Rally in 2017.
According to Tourism officials Destination marketing is a multi-faceted undertaking that requires that possible opportunities be leveraged in addition to traditional marketing strategies. This explains the close association with sport, particularly as it commands a huge global appeal.
Sports tourism lends itself well for tourism diversification and Branch’s success in the Dakar event is expected to have positive spin offs for Botswana. This is especially for the rider who had always dreamed of participating in the event as a young boy.
“The Dakar Rally was an event that I had wanted to participate in for a long time. Participating in event for me was a dream come true. It was a great honour,” said an elated Ross Branch.
He said, “I have been training for event for year and I hope I have done well enough to go back again in 2020. My goal was to finish in top 20. I got 13th overall. I also won rookie of the year.”
Branch is keen to participate in local races like Desert race and events in RSA as well as 5 races in the world championships.
