This year’s Dakar Rally was dominated by Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Daniel ‘Chucky’ Sanders after the 30-year-old led from the outset through the 12th and final stage in 2025, becoming only the second rider to do so in the event’s history. Upon his return home, MotoOnline met with the Victorian to get his take on the achievement in this Conversation interview.

Image: Supplied.

Chucky, congratulations on becoming the Dakar Rally champion! This is the pinnacle mate, so what are the emotions like right now? Has it set in yet for you?

Not really, to be honest. It hasn’t set in yet, it’s been a wild few days getting back to Australia and getting straight into the media side of things to share the story of my adventure over the last three weeks in the Saudi Arabian desert. But, it was a really big accomplishment, it’s been a really tough few years, so to get to this point and get the win, it definitely takes a lot of hard work and dedication, and even a little bit of luck.

You managed the race from the start and led from the very first stage through until the end. It’s only the second it has been done in the history of the Dakar Rally, what was that like? Was that the game plan for you, to get out and set the pace early as the best rider, or were you planning on playing the strategic game?

For me, it was to just come in confident. To lead from start to finish is a dream, but we know it’s not always necessarily the case because so many things can happen in the rally. So, to do that, it was pretty special. I think it really stamped the dominance and how good I felt on the bike, in my riding capabilities and in my navigation. It all came together perfectly. It was awesome to lead all the way – and to win five stages – which isn’t normal these days. Over the last five or six years, someone usually wins one or two when they win the race, so to do it with five stage wins, it kind of changes the narrative of the strategies to win the Dakar.

Image: Supplied.

You mentioned your dominance this year… over the last four years, you’ve been one of the guys that we’ve known is capable of winning. What was the difference this year? We’ve heard rumours that you were quite vocal about the bike, do you put it down to the bike being better this year, or is it more so the experience gained leading into your fifth Dakar?

It comes down to a lot of things. The elbow injury was pretty hard to deal with heading into last year. But even then, I’ve always felt like we could have a better bike, and I was always trying to improve it. I know how I can ride in the desert, but I just hadn’t had that feeling for a long time. I knew what I could do was much more than what I was doing, so it was really a lot of teamwork to get the bike where it needed to be to conquer all terrains and be fast everywhere. So that was huge this year, to do the whole shift with the team and really get the confidence back in my riding and with the bike, that’s really what it has come down to. The experience helps, but I’ve known that I could go to another level than where the rally has been over the last few years. I just wanted to get to that point.

Was there anything in particular that you changed on the bike, or anything that you can really pinpoint as the difference maker for this year?

Yeah, I definitely felt like we needed to make changes in the chassis, for sure. After they made the big step and changed from the 767 frame, which had been used for 10 years or so. Then a lot of small updates, then they made new frame and engine configuration, which threw a spanner in the works for us. We didn’t know what flex we needed, and it was so far off from the old bike I found. We needed to get it more like the old bike in terms of its high-speed stability in the rocks. Also with suspension, we really had to dive in and do some research there to figure out why things weren’t consistent. We also brought in Gilesy from Choice Suspension as a factory technician, he’s been really good to have at each race, it’s been awesome, and he really brings a lot to the table for both me and everyone at WP Suspension, so it’s really been a joint effort to lead to this success.

Thanks for your time Chucky, and congratulations again on the epic result!

Cheers mate.