Watch daily extended highlights from the 2025 edition of the Dakar Rally each morning via our - plus a daily 15-minute mini recap and more from January 4 to January 18 (AEDT).
Sanders followed up his prologue and stage one wins with another on the near-1000km second stage, where he opened up a 12’36” lead over his opponents in the bikes classification.
The Australian, racing on his Red Bull KTM, built upon his promising start to the marathon with an even better run to the finish line that left rival Skyler Howes 7’37” behind.
Not since Spain’s Joan Barreda in 2017 had a rider won three consecutive stages at the Dakar, though Sanders refused to get ahead of himself when addressing reporters after the race.
“It wasn’t too bad, pretty hard in the soft dunes,” Sanders said. “It was very tough for a lot of us.
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Dakar Rally 2025
series • motorsport
series • motorsport
“When opening, you didn’t know if it was going to be a soft dune or a hard dune. It was pretty tough.
“But, overall, the body feels good and I don’t feel tired at all, I just saved a lot of energy, ready for next week… I’m committed and ready to take on the challenge tomorrow.”
Meanwhile, fellow Australian Toby Price and navigator Sam Sunderland finished ninth on the day to move up to fourth overall in the cars category.
It is the first time the pair are tackling the event on four wheels but they are pleased with their progress as they sit 11’44” behind overall leader Henk Lategan.
“As rookies, me and Sam, we don’t really have an idea of what we’re doing, so, sure, it was a lot more difficult than what we were thinking,” Price said.
“When you get into that dust, you can’t see all those less visible tracks. We had one little bit of an issue before the section of sand dunes, when we were searching for a way point there for a little bit.
“Sam is doing a great job as a complete, green rookie to the whole thing, and I feel bad because I’ve given him a few head knocks and rattles in there, but all in all, we’re stoked.”
As for the rest of the Australian contingent, Rally 2 rider Toby Hederics finished the stage in 12th position and currently sits 13th overall and 30th in the bikes classification.
While Andrew Houlihan had a tougher time in the Malle Moto, with electrical issues on his KTM forcing him to abandon the stage and return to the bivouac without his vehicle.
Houlihan was last reported to be awaiting the return of his bike before assessing whether to participate in the third stage or take a penalty and return for the enduro race.
As for brothers Peter and Christopher Schey, the Classic participants finished the stage in 29th position after fixing their hub lock and accessing four-wheel drive. The pair sit 32nd overall as a result.
