Title holder Daniel Sanders only had to wait for the second stage to regain control of the Dakar by winning the stage in AlUla. It was after a truly impressive rally raid performance alongside his teammate Edgar Canet that the Australian won his 10th stage on the Dakar Rally, becoming only the 22nd rider in the race’s history to achieve a double-digit score.

“After yesterday, we fixed our heads, rested and felt much better. The navigation was really tricky in some places but we fixed a couple of mistakes quickly and didn’t lose too much time, but it was a good rhythm and we didn’t push or do anything crazy. I caught Edgar after around one hundred kilometres. It was so hard to catch him and pass him before. After that, there was some really tricky stuff and he just sat behind and watched, followed and learned. I’m sure he had some fun back there in the dust. He was there to fix a couple of mistakes and it was good fun riding with him”.

After his two successes in the prologue and the first stage, the young Spaniard Cadet, from Red Bull Factory Racing was called upon to open the way, a task he performed for around 100 kilometres, before a minor fall without serious consequences allowed Sanders to catch up. At the end of the 400-kilometre special and after the bonus points awarded to the openers were taken into account, the gap between the two riders was 1'35'' in favour of the Australian, who is also the new leader in the overall standings with a 30’’ lead.

“Well, the stage is completed. The truth is that it has been a long stage, 400 km opening the track for the first time. I had a few crashes, as you can see, but hey, these things happen. There are some rocks that you can’t see when you’re looking at the roadbook for so long. But Daniel caught up with me around 150 kilometres and from there we opened the way together. He did an incredible job. I think it’s been a difficult stage for everyone. The other riders are taking a while to arrive, so it looks like we’ve done a great job. I’m really happy with my pace and navigation. We’re perfect, nothing hurts, so we’re still in the fight and very happy that today there’s no return link and we can go straight to rest”.

Behind the two KTM riders, Ricky Brabec achieved the day’s 3rd best time and also remains 3rd in the general rankings, 2’18’’ behind the rally leader.

“Stage 1 and stage 2 was more or less the same result for me. Both of them were good. I’m still kind of where I want to be. Today I was hoping to be a little bit further back for stage 3, but tomorrow we’re going to make the most of it and try to get some bonus. If you can gain what is essentially free time and open well, you’re better off at the end of the day. Right now, I’m happy. I’m in a good position. My rivals are just in front of me and if I can just keep them in my eyesight then we’ll be looking good”.

The gaps remain modest in the Top 5, completed by Tosha Schareina, 4'41’’ behind, and Ross Branch, 7'46’’ behind. However, Adrien Van Beveren is already trailing significantly by 14'09’’, in 10th place in the general rankings.

The competition in the Rally 2 class has undergone a minor revolution, with a Honda motorcycle winning for the first time in the class, in existence since 2022, ridden by Portuguese rider Martim Ventura, a newcomer to the Dakar. The Japanese brand joins a club that remains largely dominated by KTM (36 stages in R2), followed by Husqvarna (16) and Sherco (2). However, Ventura failed to take the lead in the overall category standings, where Michael Docherty reigns supreme with a lead of 19 seconds.

Dakar Results - Stage Two