Sanders determined to complete miraculous comeback 

Just seven months ago Aussie battler Daniel Sanders was in a hospital bed recovering from a horrific crash, but tomorrow he will be back on the bike chasing victory in the arduous Dakar Rally.

Alongside compatriot Toby Price, Sanders is one of the top contenders to take out the bikes category at the world famous rally.

But no matter the result, reaching the finish line will be an achievement in itself for the Red Bull GasGas Factory Racing rider.

In May “Chucky” Sanders suffered a horrific crash near Alice Springs when preparing for the Finke Desert Race.

Sanders broke his femur in two places and opened up to SBS about the near death experience.

“I was doing a training run, crashed and woke up on my side. I didn’t even realise that I’d crashed,” he said.

“It wasn’t a high-speed crash, only 50km/h. I woke up, figured out I broke my leg and passed out again.

“Next time I woke up there were three guys who got me into a follow vehicle and off to the hospital because there’s no ambulances that come out that far.

“I was super lucky to have the support of those guys that I met just that day and fellas that I knew to drive me into town.

“Once I saw the x-rays, I knew it was very serious, it had been very close to the artery. 

“I pinch myself a bit to this day, it could have been a lot worse, but I live to fight another day.”

As a result, Sanders is heading to his fourth Dakar Rally with limited preparation.

Prior to the crash he had just scored his first ever FIM World Rally-Raid Championship victory after a special ride in the Sonoro Rally in Mexico.

But he knows how to overcome the obstacle of a limited lead-in having done so before.

“Coming off the injury in May, it was a good six and half months off, so, I’ve gone almost straight over there and trained in California in the high desert and down near the Mexico border,” Sanders said.

“We did two weeks of pretty intense training. The first few days there was a lot for me to test with the new bike and some updates to hardware that the team has made throughout the year where I’ve missed out on the testing.

“Then, it was into roadbook training and the navigation stuff. Long days on the bike training and doing a race-sim, the sort of stuff we can expect in Dakar.

“We’re a little bit under-prepared this year, but it’s the same as last year, and I went out and was one of the favourites for most of the race before having a bit of bad luck. 

“Each day is a long race and a lot of things can happen.”

Sanders is still regarded as one of the rising stars but already has plenty of Dakar experience to count on.

In 2021 he burst onto the scene as a newcomer for KTM and finished an outstanding fourth.

The following year was his first for the new GasGas squad and the partnership started perfectly with an opening stage victory.

But a high-speed crash at the start of stage 7 that fractured his elbow ended his hopes of victory and fuelled him with determination for 2023.

His third campaign was looking promising again when he hit the overall lead following a stage 3 victory whilst being serenely sick and having a thorn in his arm.

Despite a big crash leaving him with a severely split lip, “Chucky” still managed to push through the pain barrier and wrestle his bike through the tough terrain to score an impressive seventh.

Having overcome those challenges to finish last year and bounced back from the Finke fall, nothing will deter Sanders from giving it everything on the Saudi sands once again.

Even after all the setbacks, Sanders is determined to be the second Australian to win Dakar and what a story it would be.

“I just never give up. That is one thing I’ve carried throughout my life,” he said.

“I’m still hungry to win the Dakar. It’s definitely one thing I want to get under my belt.”

The 2024 Dakar Rally will be broadcast by SBS with highlights each morning.

Image by Ken Marcin / Red Bull Content Pool

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 On the latest podcast, Bruce, PG and Andrew talk about their three motor racing highlights of 2023, and to balance it out… The three lowlights as well, not lowlifes Bruce!