Exclusive: Daniel Sanders Interview

We reflect on the meteoric rise of a 19-year-old off-road talent who works on the family’s apple orchard when he’s not tearing around the bush.

Daniel Sanders first rose to national prominence at the 2012 Australian 4-Day Enduro (A4DE) in Victoria – and not just because of the memorable scene at the rowdy presso where Matt Phillips hacked the kid’s blonde mullet off to raise money for a charity! At the Warragul 4-Day, this relatively unknown 18-year-old claimed third in the E3 class and ninth Outright, prompting expectations of a big future.

In the wake of the 4-Day, however, “Chucky” Sanders is the first to admit he was distracted by school and injuries, and didn’t set the world on fire. But for season 2014, the real Daniel Sanders has turned up to play ball. After six rounds of the Australian Off-Road Championship (AORC), not only has the Boltons KTM/DirtWise/Fox rider taken six wins in the Transmoto 19 & Under class; but he’s sitting seventh in the Outright standings, up against what is arguably the most talent-stacked field in the series’ history.

Shortly after the announcement that this likeable young larrikin would represent Australia at the Argentinean ISDE later this year, we gave him a buzz to talk about what can only be described as a stellar start to 2014.

Transmoto: After doing so well at the 2012 4-Day, why only the cameo appearance at the AORC that year?

Sanders: Back in 2012, I was finishing Year 12 at school, so that limited how seriously I could commit to racing. I only raced the Victorian rounds of the AORC, where I ran third in E3 on both days and eighth and 10^th Outright, I think.

And then you kind of ran hot and cold last year.

Yeah, that’s a fair summary. I got an offer from a local Kawasaki dealer, which included support and a couple of bikes. But as I’d busted my collarbone early in the year, I didn’t do much pre-season riding, and I found adjusting from a 300cc KTM to the KX250F a bit difficult. I got some good results in the Cross-Country rounds, but struggled in the Sprints. At the 4-Day in WA, I had a few mishaps early in the event, and then knocked myself out trying to make up time. I had a lot of fun in the final moto, but I finished 17^th Outright. Nowhere!

Why’d you choose the 19 & Under class this year at the AORC?

Because there was no downside, and because Shane Watts and a few other sponsors steered me in that direction. The cool thing about the 19 & Under class is that you still get scored in the AORC’s Outright standings – which is what most of the top guys look at – and you can ride any bike you want. Based off my results, I’d be in second place in the Pro E3 class, but I reckon winning the 19s class in its first-ever year is a good goal.

Tell us more about Wattsy’s involvement.

Well, my Dad has always been a big part of my racing. He’s the guy who taught me everything and gave me the opportunities to get where I am. But Shane Watts has also helped me a lot in the past few years. When Wattsy ran his DirtWise schools in Australia in 2011, he found out we were planning a holiday to America, so he suggested I race a few GNCCs on one of his KTM 200s while I was there. I won the 200A class at one of them and had a great experience, and Wattsy started sponsoring me from last season. Aside from giving me a bit of coin, his advice is priceless. He’s won world and GNCC titles and he’s a good guy to have in your corner. We speak every couple of weeks; about everything from racing to bike set-up to training. Plus he helps me out with press releases and reinforces the importance of knowing how to deal with the media.

^ Phillips giving Sanders a haircut at the 2012 A4DE…

There’s always been a bit of a larrikin, piss-drinking, don’t-train-to-hard culture in Victorian enduro circles. Has that changed in recent years?

Everybody likes to have fun and there are still a few guys who like to win the race at the pub. But I think the serious guys are more professional these days – y’know, in bed by 8 o’clock before race-day and paying more attention to their training and diet. Sponsorship’s pretty tight nowadays, so when you get it, you need to make the most of it and give those sponsors as much as you can in return. My old man never drank, so it’s only on a rare occasion that I’ll have a drink. 

Like at the RIDE film premiere in Sydney, right? Some bloke who looked very much like you was pretty raucous and rolled himself up in the red carpet like a cigar…

Yeah (laughs), I took a few mates up to Sydney for that premiere. It was an end-of-season celebration and I was a bit excited about the segment I got in the film. It was a great night.

This year’s been a pretty solid one so far. You’ve had six straight wins in the 19 & Under class, and led a Cross-Country Outright at Corner Inlet.

Well, Tom Mason got the holeshot at that Cross-Country and led the opening lap. I inherited the lead when he stalled his bike. But it was a pretty cool feeling holding off Toby Price and Glenn Kearney until the end of the second lap. It was a bit nerve-wracking, but it gave me a good feel for the speed of those blokes and how fit they are to maintain that speed for the whole three hours. I ran sixth in the end after having to make a quick fuel stop with a lap to go.

And then the following day, you ran a career-best fourth Outright in the Sprint round, right?

Yeah, and I was stoked with that. I had been having some trouble with the linkage on my 300XC race bike at that round, so I jumped on my 300EXC practice bike (my 2012 4-Day bike), which has a slightly stronger motor. I was 10 seconds per lap quicker on it, and ended up fourth Outright.

Why do you think you were that much faster on the EXC compared with the XC, which is basically a 250SX with a 300cc motor?

I just found I could corner noticeably faster on the EXC, mainly because its suspension was a bit softer. It’d sit into ruts better, but still get around flat grasstrack turns really well. I’ve now gone back to the guys at Choice to get the suspension on both bikes set up similar. That way, I can figure out which bike to use for the rest of the season – though I’m actually leaning toward the PDS set-up on the EXC. It just seems to work better in the bush.

And then life got even better when you were named on Australia’s Junior team for the ISDE…

Totally! Growing up, representing Australia has always been a dream of mine, so it was great to get the news that I was on the Junior Aussie team for Argentina. It’s nice to be able to race an event like that at a young age – not only for the experience, but to get a feel for where my speed is at compared to the best guys in the world. I think we’ve got a strong team with a realistic chance of a podium. 

You were listed on the entry sheet at the season opener as Daniel Sanchez. What’s with that? Private joke?

Yeah, I saw that. I dunno. Their mistake, not mine. And then you guys at Transmoto started calling me “Dirty Sanchez”. I Googled it and I now know what that means.

And what’s that?

Stop it! Don’t make me say that in public (laughs). 

Okay, then where did the more established “Chucky” nickname come from?

When I was younger, I used to eat and drink too much and then chuck it up. So ‘Chucky’ kind of stuck.

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Be sure to check out Sanders’ segment from RIDE: The Film, produced by the talented crew at Fourohfour.