61 KILOMETES TO DAKAR GLORY FOR DANIEL SANDERS

Australia's newest two-wheeled hero, Daniel Sanders, is on the verge of an historic win in the 2025 Dakar Rally.

A trouble-free final day in Saudi Arabia is all he needs to become only the second Australian to win the motorcycle crown at the world's toughest off-road race, following Toby Price.

Sanders has led Dakar '25 from the get-go on his factory KTM, after clocking the fastest time on the event's prologue.

He has ridden fast but trouble-free and is preparing for a giant celebration after a fortnight of off-road challenges and adventure with a comfortable margin over second-placed Spanish rider, Tosha Schareina.

"I still have an overall lead of 9 minutes and we have one stage left of 61kms. Let’s bring it home!," Sanders said on his socials.

Further back, the only other Australian still in the event – Toby Hederics – is on course for 19th place on another KTM.

"For me, just getting across the finish line is a win," says Hederics.

"That's what I've come here to do and that's my main goal. Anything better than that is a bonus for me."

Despite his dominant performance on the Dakar, Sanders has still has his struggles.

"Today the stage didn’t start until later than scheduled because of the amount of fog present limiting visibility. I had a crash today during the sand dunes and I’m feeling pretty rough today," he reported on the second-last day.

Even so, the rider nicknamed "Chucky" has also had plenty of good times.

"I’m keen to have some fun in the sand for the next few stages," was one of his earlier reports.

Sanders is the first rider to win five stages in a single Dakar since Price in 2016. That, too, was on a KTM and ended with Price taking overall victory.

Price won again in 2019 with KTM but, after his motorcycle contract was not renewed, he switched to four wheels for 2025 in a privately-entered Toyota HiLux, with another two-wheeled Dakar winner – Sam Sunderland – as his navigator.

Price showed plenty of speed in the early running, even clocking a fifth-fastest stage time, before running into mechanical dramas and then being forced to withdrawn after Sunderland suffered tow significant concussions.