Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Daniel Sanders has won the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, extending his lead in the 2025 FIM World Rally-Raid Championship to 17 points. Dominating round two in the United Arab Emirates, Sanders secured two stage wins and finished nearly six minutes ahead of his closest rival. Teammate Luciano Benavides put in a strong performance too, narrowly missing the overall podium with his fourth-place finish. Meanwhile, Rally2 contender Edgar Canet showed early promise with a fourth-place result in the prologue but was unfortunately forced to retire after a crash on stage one.
Daniel Sanders carried his dominant Dakar Rally form into the 2025 Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, kicking off the event with a fifth-place finish on Saturday’s prologue. After seizing the rally lead after his stage two victory, he then engaged in a fierce battle with Tosha Schareina with the two riders trading places at the top of the leaderboard. However, Sanders’ stage four win and a solid fourth-place finish on the final day ultimately secured his overall victory. The KTM 450 RALLY rider’s standout performance over the six-day event earned him a full haul of championship points and he leaves Abu Dhabi with a 17-point lead in the championship ahead of round three in South Africa.
Daniel Sanders: “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. 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.”
Luciano Benavides came out swinging at round two, starting with a second-place finish in the prologue and third on stage one to put him in second overall and in early contention for the lead. Another impressive runner-up result on stage three kept him firmly in the top three. On the penultimate stage, Benavides pushed hard to overtake the leader and opened much of the route, but a slight drop in pace saw him finish seventh, costing him valuable time. Despite crossing the finish line of the final stage in third, he narrowly missed out on an overall podium result by just under two minutes. Luciano now lies in fifth in the championship standings, just two points shy of his nearest competitor.
Luciano Benavides: “So that’s the rally finished here in Abu Dhabi and I’m happy to have finished in fourth. Stage five was a really fast stage, with less off-piste tracks, and those conditions aren’t my favorite, so I’m still trying to find my balance and confidence there. It’s a shame to just miss out on the podium but it’s a consistent result which is positive. I’m really happy for the team to have won again and I’m happy with the bike, so I can’t wait to get racing again and continue improving.”
Heading into the second round of the 2025 championship as the Rally2 category leader after his class victory at the Dakar Rally, Edgar Canet was determined to maintain his momentum. After finishing fourth in class and 12th overall in the prologue, Edgar was eager to take on the full five stages. However, his campaign was cut short when a crash on stage one left the young Spaniard with a fractured elbow, forcing him to withdraw from the rally.
Andreas Hölzl – Rally Team Manager: “Daniel has done an amazing job. He’s been on point all week and his preparation has really paid off. He’s doing everything right, his bike setup is dialed in, and right now, he’s the fastest man in rally! Luciano did a great job, and with a few adjustments he will be able to make the most of his speed and rhythm and be out in front. Unfortunately, Edgar was forced to withdraw from the event due to an injury early on in the race, but he is already in recovery and should be back soon. We had a small but efficient setup with the team in Abu Dhabi and we proved that orange blood flows strong – we made it happen again!”
Provisional Results – 2025 Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge (after 5 of 5 stages)
1. Daniel Sanders (AUS), KTM, 14:20:56
2. Ricky Brabec (USA), Honda, 14:26:43 +5:47
3. Tosha Schareina (ESP), Honda, 14:27:00 +6:04
4. Luciano Benavides (ARG), KTM, 14:28:57 +8:01
5. Adrien Van Beveren (FRA), Honda, 14:30:48 +9:52
Provisional Standings – 2025 FIM World Rally-Raid Championship (after round 2)
1. Daniel Sanders (AUS), KTM, 63 points
2. Tosha Schareina (ESP), Honda, 46 pts
3. Ricky Brabec (USA), Honda, 37 pts
4. Adrien Van Beveren (FRA), Honda, 35 pts
5. Luciano Benavides (ARG), KTM, 33 pts
