SANDERS’ MOROCCO WIN – THE PERFECT DAKAR PREP

Eighteen months after busting his femur and now back with the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing team, where his rally-racing career all began four years ago, Australia’s Daniel “Chucky” Sanders has dominated Morocco’s super-tough, five-day Rallye Du Maroc and put himself firmly back in the frame as one of the favourites to win this coming January’s 2025 Dakar Rally.

Sanders’ impressive win in Morocco – the final round of the FIM World Rally Raid Championship (W2RC) – was significant for a few reasons. One, with the Rallye du Maroc featuring very similar terrain to the Dakar Rally, it’s traditionally thought of as a good form guide for Dakar. Two, the 30-year-old Aussie is finally back in top physical shape (sans mullet, too!?) and appears to be really gelling with both his team and the set-up of his KTM 450 Rallye. And three, Sanders’ now joins Toby Price on the storied Moroccan rally’s win-list (see below for the winners’ honour roll of the Rallye du Maroc).

Here’s a takeout of the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing team’s post-Morocco PR, evidently proud of the team’s return to form and their chances of reclaiming the Dakar Rally title in January and notching up the Austrian brand’s 20^th win…

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Daniel Sanders has won the 2024 Rallye du Maroc. At the end of what has been a hugely successful event for the team with both riders on the podium, Sanders opened much of Stage 5 to ultimately secure the overall rally victory by just over 11 minutes. His teammate, Luciano Benavides, delivered a strong ride to place eighth-fastest over Stage 5’s 273-kilometer special to claim an impressive third place overall.

Returning to orange for the 2024 Rallye du Maroc, both Sanders and Benavides have impressed massively with their performances over the five days of competition. Despite the weather playing its part in making this year’s rally even tougher, the Red Bull KTM team have come out swinging to claim a double podium at the event. The riders’ KTM 450 Rally machines have also been faultless throughout the 1436km raced against the clock.

Following his two consecutive stage wins on Wednesday and Thursday, Sanders once again had the unenviable task of opening today’s Stage 5. A small mistake near the beginning of the special cost the Australian several minutes, but he was able to get back on track and continue to lead out the stage.

Maintaining a solid but steady pace over the mixed terrain of the Moroccan desert, Daniel was eventually caught by teammate Benavides and race rival Tosha Schareina, with the three then riding together through the final half of the stage. Bringing his KTM 450 Rally home safely in 13^th place, ‘Chucky’ secured the rally win – the second of his career – and now looks to carry that winning momentum into the 2025 Dakar Rally next January.

Daniel Sanders: “I’m so pleased with how the whole rally has gone – especially taking the win, of course. But it’s definitely a massive accomplishment for myself and the whole team since Dakar and the last race in Argentina. It really demonstrates the hard work everyone has put in over these last few months. I’m happy to be back on the top step. It’s been a year and a half since I broke my femur, so I’m super-pumped to be back on form and showing some good speed ahead of Dakar.”

The third rider into today’s special, Benavides also lost a little time early on, but soon regrouped and got his head down to close in on the riders ahead of him. Increasing his pace until he caught teammate Sanders just after the checkpoint at kilometre 116, the Argentinian assisted in opening the stage from there to the finish. In completing day five as eighth-fastest, Luciano secured his third-place podium result in the rally – an excellent achievement in his first race after returning to the KTM squad.

Luciano Benavides: “Stage five done here in Morocco, and I think it has been the toughest of the rally so far. Navigation was super tricky with many washed-out riverbeds and tracks. I caught Daniel after kilometre 100 and continued with him opening the stage to the finish. I felt a lot more comfortable than yesterday, so the work we are doing here is really paying off. I’m really happy with how things have gone here on our first race for a long while, and to finish on the podium feels great. We still have some work to do ahead of Dakar, but I’m really looking forward to it.”

With confidence high, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing now look ahead to the 2025 Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia. The iconic event runs from January 3-17.

2024 RALLYE DU MAROC – FINAL RESULTS

1. Daniel Sanders (AUS), KTM, 15:45:06
2. Tosha Schareina (ESP), Honda, 15:56:13 +11:07
3. Luciano Benavides (ARG), KTM, 16:06:09 +21:03
4. Adrien Van Beveren (FRA), Honda, 16:07:57 +22:51
5. Bradley Cox (ZAF), KTM, 16:30:11 +45:05

RALLYE DU MAROC – WINNERS’ HONOUR ROLL

2023: Toby Price (KTM)
2022: Skyler Howes (Husqvarna)
2021: Pablo Quintanilla (Honda)
2020: Not run due to Covid-19 pandemic
2019: Toby Price (KTM)
2018: Toby Price (KTM)
2017: Matthias Walkner (KTM)
2016: Toby Price (KTM)
2015: Sam Sunderland (KTM)
2014: Marc Coma (KTM)
2013: Paolo Goncalves (Honda)
2012: Cyril Despres (KTM)