Daniel Sanders still has yet to lose in 2025. After winning the Dakar Rally, Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, and South African Safari Rally, he added his fourth W2RC win in as many races at the BP Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal. Unsurprisingly, his dominance ensured him the RallyGP title even before the fifth and final round in Morocco.

Sanders went into Round 4 holding a 35-point lead over KTM teammate Luciano and Ricky Brabec, while Adrien Van Beveren and Tosha Schareina also had outside shots. With ten bikes entered, Sanders simply needed to finish on the podium to secure the title.

It didn’t take thing for things to shape in his favor as he won the Prologue and first two stages, though Sanders still had to fight for them. Van Beveren finished just 58 seconds behind him in Stage 1, then he narrowly escaped with the Stage 2 win over Schareina by a mere four seconds. Van Beveren’s slim title hopes were extinguished in the latter when he crashed.

With his teammate out of the picture, Schareina tried to get Honda back in the race. The Spaniard put up a valiant effort, winning the third stage—during which Sanders was penalized for speeding—by a convincing enough margin to gain the overall lead.

Unfortunately for Schareina, he struggled to find grip in the penultimate stage a day later and lost nearly five minutes to Sanders, who took the top spot right back. Benavides and Sanders sealed the deal together with a Red Bull KTM 1–2 on the last stage.

Sanders left Portugal with a 44-point lead over Benavides and 47 on Brabec and Schareina. Since the race winner only earns 25 points, Sanders was mathematically guaranteed the championship without having to worry about the Rallye du Maroc.

It would unprecedented for a rider to win all five races in a W2RC season, though Sanders is technically on a five-race win streak since he won the 2024 Rallye du Maroc. In fact, he has yet to lose a race since joining KTM at said Moroccan rally.

“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,” said Sanders. “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.”

Tire choice played a major role in swinging the race toward KTM’s favor. Since the Portuguese forests and trails offer different terrain from other races on the W2RC calendar, KTM opted to use the motocross-designed Michelin Desert Race Baja tires that are less durable but built for more aggressive riding styles. Conversely, Honda used their usual Metzeler Karoo 4 tires.

With Stage 3 being the longest, KTM had to ride conservatively to protect the tires and even then still came away with a runner-up courtesy of Sanders. Ultimately, the Metzelers couldn’t get it done for Schareina on the slicker courses.

Schareina settled for second between Sanders and Benavides, while Brabec quietly finished fourth after struggling to adjust to unfamiliar courses. Skyler Howes, who grew up in desert racing like Brabec, also had a hard time going on the Iberian Peninsula, even crashing into a canal in in Stage 3.

“I’m happy that I got to the end of the race in one piece,” Brabec commented.

2024 champion Ross Branch was forced to retire when he was flung off his bike in a Stage 3 crash. He stayed around to bestow the #1 bib on Sanders at the end of the race. Fellow African rider Bradley Cox was also at the bottom of the order due to a late clutch problem.

Results

Finish	Overall	Number	Rider	Team	Total Time	Margin
1	1	4	Daniel Sanders	Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	12:39:39	Leader
2	2	68	Tosha Schareina	Monster Energy Honda HRC	12:43:19	+ 3:40
3	3	77	Luciano Benavides	Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	12:52:20	+ 12:41
4	4	9	Ricky Brabec	Monster Energy Honda HRC	12:54:13	+ 14:34
5	6	10	Skyler Howes	Monster Energy Honda HRC	13:04:28	+ 24:49
6	7	15	Lorenzo Santolino*	Sherco TVS Rally Factory Team	13:06:56	+ 27:17
7	11	11	José Ignacio Cornejo	Hero MotoSports	13:33:36	+ 53:57
8	17	12	Bradley Cox	Sherco TVS Rally Factory Team	14:09:31	+ 1:29:52
DNF	DNF	1	Ross Branch	Hero MotoSports	DNF	N/A
DNF	DNF	42	Adrien Van Beveren	Monster Energy Honda HRC	DNF	N/A

Stage winners

Stage	Overall	Rider	Time
Prologue	1	Daniel Sanders	4:47.0
Stage 1	1	Daniel Sanders	2:38:53
Stage 2	1	Daniel Sanders	3:11:55
Stage 3	1	Tosha Schareina	3:13:51
Stage 4	1	Daniel Sanders	2:26:52
Stage 5	1	Luciano Benavides	59:53

W2RC standings

Riders

Rank	Rider	Points	Margin
1	Daniel Sanders	113	Leader
2	Luciano Benavides	69	– 44
T-3	Ricky Brabec	66	– 47
T-3	Tosha Schareina	66	– 47
5	Adrien Van Beveren	48	– 65
6	Skyler Howes	46	– 67
7	José Ignacio Cornejo	44	– 69
8	Bradley Cox	18	– 95
9	Ross Branch	8	– 105

Manufacturers

Rank	Manufacturer	Points	Margin
1	KTM	182	Leader
2	Honda	152	– 30
3	Hero	52	– 130

Featured image credit: Helena Clancy / Edophoto / DPPI / ASO