Daniel Sanders started the 2025 season in perfect form, winning the Dakar Rally and later becoming world champion. His dominance made many believe he and his KTM would easily control the rally stage that began and ended in Yanbu. Going into the stage, Sanders led the overall standings by more than six minutes over Ricky Brabec.
However, the rally took a dramatic turn when Sanders crashed 138 km into the stage and injured his left shoulder. Even though he managed to finish the stage, he lost nearly 30 minutes. This mistake likely ends Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s chances of winning the title with Sanders.
KTM still has hope through Luciano Benavides, who started the stage in ninth place and narrowly missed the win. With only three days remaining, Benavides is just about 20 seconds behind and will need to beat his main rival, Ricky Brabec of Monster Energy Honda HRC, in what is expected to be a tense and unpredictable battle.
The stage victory was claimed by Adrien Van Beveren, who has had an up-and-down rally so far. He won the stage on the way to Bisha, on a meaningful day honoring Dakar founder Thierry Sabine. This marked Van Beveren’s seventh Dakar stage win and moved him up to sixth place overall, now about one hour behind the race leader.