Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Daniel Sanders has secured the 2025 FIM World Rally-Raid Championship with a dominant win at round four, Rally Raid Portugal. Continuing his unbeaten record this season, ‘Chucky’ topped the timesheets in the prologue and three of the five stages to take the race win and the championship crown in style. Luciano Benavides rode his KTM 450 RALLY to third place overall, while Edgar Canet took the win in the hotly contested Rally2 category.
After a break of four months since the previous round on the W2RC calendar, Red Bull KTM arrived in Portugal focused on continuing their run of success in the 2025 season. Sanders immediately threw down the gauntlet to his rivals on the short but intense prologue, where he beat teammate Canet to the win by a mere two seconds.
Heading into stage one – a 425km loop with 325km raced against the clock – Sanders took advantage of his start position to attack right from the start, mastering the dry, slippery terrain to open a gap on the rest of the field. Winning the special by just under a minute, the Australian laid down a statement ride, taking early control of the rally and setting the tone for what would become another dominant performance.
Despite leading out on stage two, Sanders clinched the win once again. Stage three, the longest of the event, saw tactics come in to play in order to conserve tires on the long, demanding timed special. After easing off to ensure a safe finish, Daniel placed second on the stage as the rally reached its halfway point.
Stage four was decisive. With a timed special of 274km, Sanders was able to push hard and subsequently open up a sizeable lead at the front of the field. Taking his third stage win of the event, Daniel would head into the final day with an advantage of over three minutes.
Sunday’s stage five could not have gone better for the team. Benavides claimed his first stage win of the event, closely followed by Sanders in second and Canet in third, with the three teammates separated by just 10 seconds. The result saw Daniel take the race win by a comfortable three minutes and 40 seconds.
In claiming victory at Rally Raid Portugal, Sanders secured the 2025 FIM World Rally-Raid Championship title with one round to spare. His triumph at round four is the latest in a flawless string of results. After a career-first win at the iconic Dakar Rally earlier this year, he then proceeded to win every subsequent round, culminating in this decisive performance in Portugal. His total sweep not only secures the rider title but underscores the performance and reliability of the KTM 450 RALLY under Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s development.
Daniel Sanders: “It’s a dream come true to win the world championship. You think about it when you’re a kid no matter what sport you do, but I chose motorbikes, and it worked out really well. The race here has gone so well, and the bike has been perfect, so a massive thank you to the team for all the hard work they put in. It’s very rare to have this sort of consistency in rally as it’s often so unpredictable. But up to now, we’ve put in a perfect season, and we’ll still be aiming to carry that into Morocco. It’s still all sinking in really. I’m happy to get the world
championship here in Portugal and hopefully, there’s a lot more to come.”
Delivering an excellent performance in Portugal, Luciano Benavides’ pace increased as the rally progressed. After delivering a top-10 result on the prologue, the Argentinian backed that up with fifth on stage one, followed by a fourth, then two consecutive third-place results. On the short, final 103km timed special on stage five, Benavides pushed hard to take the stage win and with it, secure his place on the Rally Raid Portugal podium in third.
Now, with just the Rallye du Maroc remaining, Benavides lies second in the RallyGP standings, three points ahead of third-placed Tosha Schareina.
