Daniel Sanders wins 2025 Dakar Rally
Australia’s Daniel Sanders triumphed at this year’s Dakar Rally, achieving a personal goal and also providing much-needed good news for KTM. In his fifth Dakar start and first with Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, the 30-year-old Victorian led from start to finish in the 7,700+km marathon.
Having won the 2024 Rallye du Maroc in his first full event with the factory KTM squad, Sanders came to Saudi Arabia for the 47th Dakar feeling healthy and confident. His team mates were two-time winner Kevin Benavides and his brother Luciano Benavides.
Rivals consisted mainly of the Monster Energy Honda Team that consisted of two-time winner Ricky Brabec, Adrien van Beveren, Skylar Howes, Pablo Quintanilla and Tosha Schareina. Hero Motorsports Team Rally were also a threat with their rider lineup of Ross Branch, Jose Ignacio ‘Nacho’ Cornejo and Sebastian Bühler.
In a race that’s as much about tactics as speed and endurance, Sanders set an early marker by winning the Prologue, the opening stage and Stage 2. The latter was a ’48 Hour Chrono’, where riders had to complete two days without overnight servicing and maintenance from their teams.
On Stage 3, a problem with the digital roadbook that all riders rely on for navigation saw Sanders finish in 17th place. Despite this, he retained the overall lead, aided by Bühler’s early retirement and navigation errors from other riders.
A win on the Marathon Stage 4 came despite more navigation issues, with Sanders extending his overall lead to 13m26s. Stage 5 was a mixed bag for the Aussie; gaining time bonuses by opening the stage, then losing time for speeding in a restricted area and having more roadbook dramas. Despite this, Sanders took a 7-minute lead into the mid-rally rest day.
For the second week of the 2025 Dakar, the Saudi Arabian terrain would change from dusty, rocky trails to towering sand dunes as the route headed towards the country’s Empty Quarter. Stage 6 would be another test of Sanders’s endurance and navigation, consisting of 605km of timed special and 829km in total. Losing a team mate in Kevin Benavides on this stage, Sanders also lost a rival when Branch crashed out. Despite finishing ninth, Sanders extended his lead in the overall classification to almost 12 minutes.
Stage 7, a 708km (411km timed) mix of rocks and dunes, saw the Aussie benefit from his lower starting position to win the day ahead of KTM-supported rider Edgar Canet. The following day’s 483km timed special was described as the toughest yet by Sanders. He finished seventh but still held onto the overall lead.
After a fast start to Stage 9, Sanders came unstuck with minor navigation errors in the second part of the stage and finished the day third. Stage 10’s timed special was a short 115km in the Empty Quarter, but the liaison was a brutal 502km, testing the durability and concentration of all. The short special meant Sanders’s rivals couldn’t eat into his lead much, so the Aussie took a 16m31s advantage into the penultimate stage.
Heavy fog delayed the start of Stage 11 for more than three hours, leading to the timed section being reduced. This caused tumult among some riders, chief among them van Beveren, who argued that it cost them opportunities to improve their position or even win. Sanders countered by stating it was a 12-day race and those critics should have made an effort on the previous ten days, not just this one. The stage finally went ahead, with a 152km special that Sanders completed in sixth place to take a 9-minute lead into the final day.
With one hand on the trophy, and only 61km with an MX-style mass start to complete, Sanders rode conservatively to assure his victory, becoming only the second Aussie after Toby Price to win the Dakar. Schareina finished second overall and van Beveren third.
“It’s a massive accomplishment for myself and the team after a tough year, and I can’t thank everyone enough for the support,” Sanders said. “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.”
