The Australian KTM rider confirms himself as the fittest at the start of 2025, winning all the stages held so far and pulling ahead of his pursuers
The Dakar 2025 among motorcycles has only one protagonist: it is Daniel Sandersan Australian from KTM who has so far taken home the prologue and the first two stages disputed. At the end of the very long 48 hours of 947 timed km, Sanders clocked 7’37” Skyler Howes and 7’41” to Tosha Schareina, both on Honda. The second half of the stage, decidedly shorter thanks to the terrain covered on Sunday, saw the Australian continue to pull away from his pursuers and bring his lead in the general classification to well 12’36” over Howes.
navigation problems
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The Honda riders started first from the intermediate bivouacs on this second day, opening the way for the others and collecting second bonuses. This led Tosha Schareinathe highest in the standings, to close in on Sanders’ lead before a collective navigation error caused him and his brand-mates to lose precious minutes. The Spaniard finished third at 7’41” and is fourth overall. Behind Sanders’ KTM in the breakaway are four official Hondaswith Howes, Schareina, Brabec and Van Beveren, interspersed with Hero’s Ross Branch. Some difficulties for the Italian riders: the best placed after the first stage was Paolo Lucciwhich however encountered problems in the first part of the 48 hours, losing a lot of time. All the others are still in the special stage and will leave several hours behind the leaders on the table.
Dakar motorcycle: the ranking of the second stage
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Here are the top ten finishers of the 48-hour stage around Bisha, 947 km long:
- Sanders (Aus/Ktm) 11h 12’13”
- Howes (USA/Honda) at 7’37”
- Schareina (Spa/Honda) at 7’41”
- Van Beveren (Fra/Honda) at 8’45”
- Branch (Bwa/Hero) at 10’02”
- L. Benavides (Arg/Ktm) at 11’49”
- Docherty (RSA/KTM) at 11’50”
- Brabec (USA/Honda) at 12’47”
- Quintanilla (Cil/Honda) at 13’39”
- Canet (Spa/Ktm) at 21’53”
Dakar motorcycle: the ranking after the second stage
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- Sanders (Aus/Ktm) 16h 10’31”
- Howes (USA/Honda) at 12’36”
- Branch (Bwa/Hero) at 12’40”
- Schareina (Spa/Honda) at 12’48”
- Brabec (USA/Honda) at 15’09”
- L. Benavides (Arg/Ktm) at 22’31”
- Van Beveren (Fra/Honda) at 24’10”
- Quintanilla (Cil/Honda) at 25’12”
- Cornejo Florimo (Cil/Hero) at 46’57”
- Cox (RSA/KTM) at 53’36”
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