SANDERS WINS RALLY-RAID PORTUGAL

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Daniel Sanders has won Round 2 of the 2026 FIM World Rally-Raid Championship with a hard-fought performance that saw the Australian lead Rally-Raid Portugal from start to finish. Teammate Edgar Canet brought his KTM450 Rally home in fourth place, while 2026 Dakar Rally winner Luciano Benavides maintained his championship lead with ninth.

Covering a total of 2201km – with 1269km of timed racing – the third edition of Rally-Raid Portugal promised to deliver its trademark mix of fast forest tracks in Portugal and sandy open sections after travelling into Spain. However, with torrential rain battering the region, deep water and mud only added to the challenge of the six-day event.

Having had just two months to heal up and recover following this year’s Dakar Rally where he completed the event with an injured shoulder, Sanders came out swinging in Portugal and topped the short but intense opening three-kilometer prologue by a single second. Sanders backed up his prologue performance on the first full stage of the event by topping the timesheets by an impressive two minutes and 10 seconds after 180km raced against the clock.

What then followed was a fierce battle between Sanders and closest rival Tosha Schareina, with the pair exchanging stage wins for the remainder of the rally. Stage two went the way of the Spaniard, but ‘Chucky’ maintained his overall lead. Sanders kept the momentum rolling on Friday’s stage three, taking control of the wet conditions and technical navigation on the demanding 501km loop around Badajoz, Spain, to further extend his lead. Despite placing second on stage four as the rally returned to Portugal, the Red Bull KTM rider dropped just over one minute to the winner, maintaining a vital one-minute-and-46-second advantage heading into the final day.

The fifth and final stage went all Sanders’ way. Schareina opened the stage and took an early lead but by the halfway point, the Red Bull KTM rider had begun to open up an advantage and carried that to the line. With only the short spectator stage remaining, Sanders maintained a strong pace to the checkered flag to secure his 29th W2RC stage win and consecutive overall victories at the Portuguese event, following his 2025 triumph.

Daniel Sanders: 
“I’m super happy to get the win here in Portugal. Tosha was pushing me the whole way in what was a really tough race with slippery, demanding conditions. It feels great to return to winning form after the injury at Dakar. Delivering this result here at Rally-Raid Portugal was important, not just for my confidence, but for the whole team. Although I was able to complete the Dakar, we lost a fair few points, so to get things back on track here, gives us a big boost as we fight for back-to-back championships, which is the ultimate goal this season.”

Canet got his Rally-Raid Portugal off to a strong start with fourth place on the opening prologue. Heading into the rally proper, both Canet and teammate Luciano Benavides chose to run the harder-compound desert tire – a decision that would ultimately cost them valuable time as the race progressed in wetter conditions. Despite the disadvantage, Canet delivered day after day of strong performances with two top-five results and a final placing of fourth. The result moves the young Spaniard up to seventh place in the FIM World Rally-Raid Championship standings.

Edgar Canet: 
“It’s been a good week for me overall. I had a good balance with my speed and I’m still learning a lot in every race we take part in. A lot of things have been happening here in Portugal, and we were able to overcome all the challenges to finish top-four. We didn’t make the perfect tire selection, but despite that, with the help of the team, we kept focused and pushed all the way to the end. Now, I need to take the confidence I’ve earned here and combine that with training ahead of the next round in Argentina. The Desafio Ruta 40 is a very different race, but I’m already excited to take it on and hopefully secure another strong result.”

Benavides, hot off his incredible win at this year’s Dakar Rally, was also put at an immediate disadvantage due to his tire choice. However, he maintained a solid pace throughout the event and its treacherous conditions, to steadily move up the leaderboard. From 15th on the prologue, the Argentine placed eighth on stage one and backed that up with another three top-10 stage results to secure ninth at the finish. In doing so, Benavides maintains his championship lead heading into Round 3, his home event – the Desafio Ruta 40 set to be held in Argentina from 24-29 May.

Luciano Benavides: 
“For sure, it was not the race I was hoping for here in Portugal, but to be honest, I didn’t expect to come here and win. Dakar was such an incredible moment, and I went through so many emotions and a lot of physical strain too. I struggled to find a good feeling in the wet conditions here and that knocked my confidence a little, but I knew if I kept pushing and finished in one piece, I would be able to keep the lead of the championship, which is super important for me. The season is very long, and you have to perform in all sorts of different terrain to succeed. Now, I have time to recover and then start to prepare for the next race, which is my home race in Argentina and probably my favorite after the Dakar. I’m really looking forward to it.”