“You’ve got the monkey off your back”
Crew facts
- It took Daniel Sanders five Dakar rallies and quite a few setbacks before he claimed top honours last January.
- A pure product of the Australian off-road motorcycling scene, Daniel Sanders made a sensational debut at the 2021 Dakar, finishing 4th and Best Rookie, almost precisely as his compatriot and mentor Toby Price had done in 2015 (3rd).
- What followed was even more painful: despite winning two special stages and sitting third overall, an accident on a liaison sector resulted in a fractured elbow and wrist. A year later, the rider from Three Bridges finished seventh after battling nasty food poisoning and a thorn stuck in a muscle in his arm, the ultimate irony for a beekeeper who is well accustomed to bee stings.
- Bad luck continued to plague him. As he prepared for his fourth Dakar Rally, he broke his femur during a training session in the Australian outback. Despite his truncated preparation, he nevertheless finished eighth overall.
- Finally free of health concerns, the 31-year-old rider joined the KTM factory team for his fifth participation. ‘Chucky’, as he is known, took the rally lead after the prologue and never looked back. He became the second Australian, after Toby Price, to win the motorcycle title, scoring five stage wins along the way.
- Sanders also clinched the W2RC World Championship title in the FIM category this season, winning four of the five rounds on the calendar (Dakar, Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, Safari Rally, BP Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal), making him the favourite to repeat his Dakar victory, something no rider has done since Marc Coma in 2015.
Ambition
"It hasn't changed my life so much. I still have the same goal, the same vision: to keep riding. Yes, it's a huge objective that I've achieved. And I'm going down in Australian motorsport history as a winner of the Dakar. It feels great that all the hard work finally paid off. Everything was not perfect during last year's rally. Victory is the ideal result, yes. You still make little mistakes on every stage, and there are so many things that can change. I managed it very well, focused on myself, and attacked when I knew I could. Once in the lead, I had to keep it under control and avoid making any big mistakes.
I'm still going flat out. My riding style hasn't changed. I can now ride the bike at 100%. And there's no better feeling. Being the world champion means I've had another good season. It's really nice to have the FIM gold medal around my neck. Winning a second time would feel the same. Yes, it takes a weight off your shoulders. But there's even more pressure this year. The hardest thing is defending the title, which will require even more effort and add even more pressure. Everyone is after me now, so it's going to be tough, but I'm ready for the challenge.
I want to win the Dakar two years in a row in the motorcycle category. No rider has done that in a very long time, and I would really like to do it. That's my motivation."
