DANIEL SANDERS WINS RALLYE DU MAROC

Australia’s Daniel Sanders has started his time with Red Bull KTM Factory Racing in the best way possible, winning the Rallye du Maroc in Morocco. Both Sanders and Luciano Benavides joined the team on the eve of the October event, as part of KTM’s restructuring of their rally raid squad ahead of next year’s Dakar Rally.

That restructuring has included parting ways with Toby Price and (apparently) Mattias Walkner, as well as folding both the Husqvarna and GasGas teams, which Benavides and Sanders rode for at this year’s Dakar. At the Rallye du Maroc, KTM entered a three-rider squad, with Sanders and Benavides joining incumbent Kevin Benavides (Luciano’s brother) in the factory team.

With his main opposition in the five-day Morocco rally being the Honda and Hero factory riders, Sanders started strongly, with a runner-up finish on the opening day’s stage, then third on stage two. Victories in the third and fourth stages set the Aussie up for the overall win, which he achieved despite finishing 13th on the fifth and final stage.

“I’m so pleased with how the whole rally has gone, especially taking the win,” Sanders said. “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.”

Luciano Benavides was eighth fastest on the final stage and finished third overall, with Monster Energy Honda’s Tosha Schareina splitting the KTM pair in the final standings.

“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,” Benavides said. “We still have some work to do ahead of Dakar, but I’m really looking forward to it.”