International Off-Road Wrap-up January 19, 2021

Australian riders conquering Dakar Rally riders are recovering from their epic results.

Daniel Sanders – had Australian’s celebrating at home with his amazing performance at his first Dakar Rally and only his second rally race event. The current Australian Off-Road Champion finished a spectacular 4th place in the world’s toughest rally, and was also crowned Rookie of the Dakar. We’ll have your crown ready to be picked up at Round 1 in Nowra, your Majesty!

Chucky’s race summary: “All-in-all it’s been a pretty perfect first Dakar for me. It started off with a good Prologue and then day-by-day I learned a little more and gained as much experience as possible. I’m really pleased to come away with fourth overall and as first rookie, so that’s cool. I’ve only really spent four months on the KTM rally bike, learning as much as I can for this, so I can’t thank Jordi and the whole team enough for all the hard work they have done and the faith they put in me. It’s pretty much what I expected as I came into the race ready for it to be really tough. The first few days weren’t so bad – yeah, the navigation was tricky, but it wasn’t till about day five or six that we had some hugely physical stages in the dunes. That, and after a couple of crashes, my body really started to hurt. It’s all been worth it though, I’m over the moon with my result and glad I’ve been able to gather all the information together and come away with a strong finish. It’s been the toughest race I’ve ever done, but I’m already looking forward to the next one!”

Michael Burgess – had a phenomenal first Dakar Rally also making big progress in the last week to climb the leader board and finished in 27th place.

Andrew Houlihan – suffered a broken scaphoid in his hand on day 3, and despite the serious injury called on every ounce of energy and will to climb every sand dune and rocky outcrop to complete the Dakar Rally in 50th place.

Toby Price – while battling for the lead and sitting in 2nd place crashed out of the Dakar Rally on stage 9 when he looked like he was going to take charge of rally. Airlifted to hospital, Price discovered he had a broken colarbone.