The 46th edition of the Dakar Rally proved to be one of the toughest on record with its mixed, challenging terrain and demanding navigation which came down to the final day – Stage 12. Organizers delivered 13 full days of racing, which included the new 48-hour chrono stage with riders sleeping under the stars with zero assistance from their teams. Of the 7854 kilometres covered, 4709 were raced against the clock – a daunting task for any seasoned rally racer and one the Red Bull KTM team attacked head on.
Toby Price, racing his 10th edition of the world’s toughest rally-raid, has delivered day after day of fast, consistent rides at this year’s Dakar. Following a navigational error on stage one, Price bounced back to steadily climb his way back up the leaderboard as the race progressed. Securing several top-five stage results, including a runner-up finish on Stage 12, Price ultimately completed the rally in fifth place, trailing teammate Benavides by less than seven minutes after over 52 hours of racing against the clock. An exceptional performance by the official Dakar Rally Legend.
Toby Price: “For us, it’s definitely been a really tough event this year. Thankfully, it’s always a good result when you can get to the finish line in one piece at the Dakar, and here we are, happy and healthy. Looking back over the week, we were never far off the pace, just made a few too many mistakes out there and as you know that can cost some serious time at Dakar. The whole Red Bull KTM team have been incredible over the two weeks and have worked so hard. It’s a shame we’ve not been able to reward them with a podium. Big credit to the top guys as well, they got it done this year, so congratulations to them.”
Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing’s Daniel Sanders didn’t secure the win or a podium this time around, but every stage, and every Dakar completed rewards all riders with invaluable experience that you just can’t find anywhere else. With just under a month to prepare for this year’s event after multiple surgeries in 2023, Chucky brought himself home in a solid eighth place, and takes away plenty of positives from the 46th edition of the world’s toughest rally-raid.
A badly broken femur in May 2023 was not on Sanders’ to-do list last year as it not only ruled him out of FIM World Rally-Raid Championship contention, but it put a big question mark over his participation at Dakar 2024. After undergoing his final surgery in November, his decision to head to Saudi Arabia for his fourth go at the Dakar was made, and then it was a case of clocking up as many miles as possible to get comfy on his RX 450F.
Reminding everyone of what he does best on day one – that’s going blazing fast on a dirt bike through the desert – Chucky kicked things off nicely by posting the second-fastest time on the prologue. From there, consistent results were the name of the game before he really excelled at the end of week one to place fourth on two stages and move up to seventh overall.
Daniel Sanders: “Coming in I didn’t have much preparation at all. I broke my femur really badly eight months ago and I only had December on the bike to prepare, so all I could really do was spend as much time on the bike as possible. But we were able to get the bike good and here we are at the finish line. My last surgery was only three months ago, and the bone still isn’t fully healed. I didn’t expect to be here back in November so I’m really happy to finish another Dakar. It’s certainly been a challenge this year and I’ve missed a lot of racing during the last two years, so my goal now is to stay healthy, then return bigger and better next year. I’ll be doing everything I can to make that happen.”
