Following his two consecutive stage wins on Wednesday and Thursday, Sanders once again had the unenviable task of opening today’s stage five. A small mistake near the beginning of the special cost the Australian several minutes, but he was able to get back on track and continue to lead out the stage.
Maintaining a solid but steady pace over the mixed terrain of the Moroccan desert, Daniel was eventually caught by teammate Benavides and race rival Tosha Schareina, with the three then riding together through the final half of the stage. Bringing his KTM 450 RALLY home safely in 13th place, ‘Chucky’ secured the rally win – the second of his career – and now looks to carry that winning momentum into the 2025 Dakar Rally next January.
Daniel Sanders: “I’m so pleased with how the whole rally has gone, especially taking the win of course. But it’s definitely a massive accomplishment for myself and the whole team since Dakar and the last race in Argentina – it really demonstrates the hard work everyone has put in over these last few months. I’m happy to be back on the top step, it’s been a year and a half since I broke my femur, so I’m super-pumped to be back on form and showing some good speed ahead of Dakar.”
The third rider into today’s special, Benavides also lost a little time early on, but soon regrouped and got his head down to close in on the riders ahead of him. Increasing his pace until he caught teammate Sanders just after the checkpoint at kilometer 116, the Argentinian assisted in opening the stage from there to the finish. In completing day five as eighth-fastest, Luciano secured his third-place podium result in the rally – an excellent achievement in his first race after returning to the KTM squad.
Luciano Benavides: “Stage five done here in Morocco, and I think it has been the toughest of the rally so far. Navigation was super tricky with many washed out riverbeds and tracks. I caught Daniel after kilometer 100 and continued with him opening the stage to the finish. I felt a lot more comfortable than yesterday, so the work we are doing here is really paying off. I’m really happy with how things have gone here on our first race for a long while, and to finish on the podium feels great. We still have some work to do ahead of Dakar, but I’m really looking forward to it.”
With confidence high, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing now look ahead to the 2025 Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia. The iconic event runs from January 3-17.
Provisional Results – 2024 Rallye du Maroc, Stage 5
1. Tosha Schareina (ESP), Honda, 2:33:04
2. Lorenzo Santolino (ESP), Sherco, 2:33:56 +0:52
3. Adrien Van Beveren (FRA), Honda, 2:34:31 +1:27
4. Edgar Canet (ESP), KTM, 2:34:53 +1:49
5. Harith Noah (IND), Sherco, 2:39:13 +6:09
Other KTM
8. Luciano Benavides (ARG), KTM, 2:40:21 +7:29
13. Daniel Sanders (AUS), KTM, 2:43:29 10:37
Provisional Standings – 2024 Rallye du Maroc (after 5 of 5 stages)
1. Daniel Sanders (AUS), KTM, 15:45:06
2. Tosha Schareina (ESP), Honda, 15:56:13 +11:07
3. Luciano Benavides (ARG), KTM, 16:06:09 +21:03
4. Adrien Van Beveren (FRA), Honda, 16:07:57 +22:51
5. Bradley Cox (ZAF), KTM, 16:30:11 +45:05
