Australian off-road star eager to win again at world’s toughest race for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing
Daniel Sanders led the 2025 Dakar Rally bike class from start to finish at the 47th edition of the world’s toughest off-road race in Saudi Arabia, and the Australian racer is keen to add more trophies to his collection after climbing on to the top step of the podium. Here is all you need to know:
– Sanders, who also goes by the nickname ‘Chucky’, hails from the rural Victorian town of Three Bridges – where he grew up on an apple farm – and, after taking up riding at 13, he enjoyed a stellar junior career that peaked with winning the FIM Junior World Trophy for the Australian team.
– Often racing alongside fellow Australian Toby Price, Sanders became the 2018 International Six Days Enduro champion, then Australian Enduro Champion in 2019, before joining the KTM Factory Racing Rally Team in 2020 to race with Price – who already had two Dakar titles to his name.
– His 2021 Dakar Rally debut thrust him firmly onto the global scene as he finished in a superb fourth place – just 38 minutes and 52 seconds behind Argentine winner Kevin Benavides – with two 2022 stage wins, one 2023 stage win and a 2024 top-10 finish cementing his promise at this level.
– This year, however, he seemed determined to up his game considerably from the outset, and he reeled off wins in the opening Prologue, Stage 1 and Stage 2 to build a 12-minute lead over his nearest competitor.
– His lead then only got down to 6m51s at its closest, the 30-year-old adding Stage 4 and Stage 7 victories en route to finishing 8m50s ahead of Spaniard Tosha Schareina – KTM’s 20th title in this particular category.
– Sanders, who won five stages in total to match compatriot Price’s 2016 achievement on two wheels, enthused: “Winning this race feels massive. When I came over the last dune and saw the bivouac, I got instant chills through the whole body. All the emotions just started coming through.”
– In terms of what he changed in his pre-race preparation, he said: “Just work really hard with the team and myself to do better. From last year, we learnt from all our mistakes and where we needed to be better, and the team went away and worked on that and I went away and worked on things I needed to with recovering and physically being more strong.”
– He added: “The first real test was at Morocco (where he won the 2024 Rallye du Maroc bike title) and we knew we were in a good position, then do a bit of fine tuning from there and come out full focus. I was fit and strong, so I just knew I had to focus on what I needed to do to win the Dakar. It was a lot of hard work and it worked out really well.”
– With Price moving to the Ultimate category for his Dakar debut in that class for this year, Sanders knew that he had a big weight of expectation on his shoulders from his supporters back home in his native Australia.
– He revealed: “Australian culture is never give up, give everything and don’t quit. To bring the trophy to Australia and show this off is going to be really special for my family and friends that have supported me all along the way. They have always stayed by my side with the ups and downs.”
– Now that he has one precious Dakar Rally bike title to his name, Sanders is very eager to achieve more in the prime of his off-road biking career.
– He explained: “I just keep focusing on my job and all the work behind seems to be better. We know where we need to be better already for next year and the next race, so we’ll work on that and celebrate this for a few months, I’m sure. It will be exciting to get back and see what’s next.”
