Sanders does it again in Abu Dhabi
Dakar Rally winner Daniel “Chucky” Sanders has saluted again in the World Rally-Raid Championship, taking out the five day Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge to extend his W2RC championship lead.
The Victorian from Three Bridges Victoria has now made it a rare three wins in a row – Morocco (2024), Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi – in the worlds most gruelling motorsport championship, giving the beleaguered KTM Factory another boost.
“This one is a really great victory to tick off as last time I was here, I lost out on the win on the final day which was tough,” Sanders said.
“I felt great all week and it’s amazing to have won three races in a row now. I’m really enjoying riding, my KTM is running perfectly, and I can’t thank everyone in the team enough for their hard work to get us to this point.”
Sanders has extended his W2RC lead to 17 points over his closest rival with three rounds to go. Image: Red Bull Content Pool
After his closest championship contender – following Dakar – Honda Spaniard Tosha Schareina took a hefty time penalty after the second stage, Sanders found himself with a 7 minute and 23 second cushion heading into the final 364 km day.
Managing his pace, Sanders held the gap over American Ricky Brabec to win it by +5:47, with Schareina taking third outright, meaning the Aussie will carry a handy 17 point lead into the third round in South Africa on April 2-7.
Kicking off the 1,917 km challenge, Sanders finished fifth in the opening Prologue before slipping to eighth after the first.
A huge second stage win and a big penalty to the Spaniard then saw Sanders leap into the lead, switching a six minute deficit into a two minute lead which he then traded with Schareina over the next two stages. But a resounding performance in the fourth stage gave him a commanding position.
He’s the first rider since Sam Sunderland in 2022 to achieve the Dakar-Abu Dhabi back-to-back.
World Rally-Raid W2RC Standings
- Daniel Sanders 63
- Tosha Schareina 46
- Ricky Brabec 37
- Adrien Van Beveren 35
- Luciano Benavides 33
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