DANIEL SANDERS WINS 2025 DAKAR RALLY

Red Bull Factory Racing’s Daniel Sanders has claimed his first Dakar victory! The 2025 Dakar Rally saw Sanders’ secure five stage victories, while also having led the rally from start to finish – only the second ever rider in history to do so after Marc Coma’s efforts in 2009. Sanders’ win also marks KTM’s 20th victory at the iconic event.

With a near nine-minute victory ahead of Honda’s Tosha Schareina and an undoubted display of total dominance, “Chucky” Sanders showcased his speed and skill from the outset by winning prologue, the opening stage and the 48-hour Chrono stage to cement his early lead before going on and securing two more stage wins, and never giving up his overall advantage. 

Sanders’ win didn’t come without challenges, including multiple navigation issues and a notable tough run in Stage 11 that saw the Australian’s lead slashed by over seven minutes. The rally itself didn’t proceed without issues of its own, either. The penultimate stage of the Dakar was where drama really unfolded, with heavy fog halting the rally’s essential helicopters from being able to fly and ultimately postponing the stage’s start time. 

Competitors were forced to wait, for hours, until the fog lifted and sky cleared. Already tired and emotional, riders weren’t in top spirits and even more so once the negotiations of a shortened stage began. Safety was the prime topic with organisers not wanting riders to be finishing the stage in the dark. Without surprise, the decision to shorten the stage overall to finish at a fuel stop was contentious amongst those still vying for the Dakar Rally champion title.

“…You can’t rely on one day to get the result. It’s a 12 day race, you have 12 days to do good…” Sanders pointed out in response to his competition’s uproar on the decision to shorten the stage. He had a point, though, which he went on to firmly prove, by finishing sixth in the 61km, mass-start final stage and being crowned the overall champion.

With the win arriving in Sanders’ fifth attempt of the rally, he also writes history as the second Australian to win the event, following Toby Price’s efforts with KTM in 2016 and 2019. Sanders’ often raced alongside Price, and joined him back in 2020 at the KTM Factory Racing Rally Team when Price already had two Dakar titles to his name. Price’s own 2025 Dakar journey on four wheels came to a halt after completing Stage 5, with co-driver and fellow two-time Dakar bike champion, Sam Sunderland, suffering from a severe concussion, resulting in the duo ultimately deciding to withdraw from the race. 

This Dakar Rally victory caps off a great fortnight for the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing team, with Sanders’ teammates Luciano Benavides and Edgar Canet also finishing inside the top 10 on the overall standings, with Canet dominating Rally2 with the category win, four stage wins and defending his lead from the second day to the end of the race

Daniel Sanders:
“So we have just won the Dakar Rally! It’s a massive accomplishment from myself and the team after a tough year, and I can’t thank everyone enough for the support. It’s been a long journey, and I can’t wait to celebrate with everyone! Now it’s time to kick back and relax after a long two weeks.”

Pit Beirer – KTM Motorsports Director:
“What an incredible victory! Congratulations, Daniel, and thank you to the whole team. From the home base in Mattighofen, who built an incredible motorcycle, to the team at the track, and finally Daniel, who won this Dakar in the most dominant style I have ever seen. Leading from the first day until the last is such a special statement and is so important for KTM as it shows exactly what we stand for – we are back on track and Ready To Race. This victory is not just for the team and the race department, it’s for the whole company. It shows if we stick together and fight hard with our incredible riders, we can achieve incredible results. Congratulations also to Edgar, one of the best rookies we have seen for a long time, Luciano for being such a stable force, and Kevin, who made an impressive comeback but just needs that little bit more time to rest and heal. This is a super important victory, and we couldn’t have asked for a better start to the season for racing and for everyone at KTM.”

It was a mixed bag for the remaining Australians competing in Dakar, with Toby Hederics (BAS World KTM) putting in a formidable performance to finish 19th overall in the bike classification, while Andrew Houlihan (Nomadas Adventure KTM) withdrew following Stage 8.