41 and Billys Back

Supercross rider returns to compete in championship at age 41

Red Bull KTM’s Daniel Sanders takes maiden victory

Daniel Sanders wins the 2025 Dakar Rally for Red Bull KTM – final stage 12 results sees the Australian take victory ahead of Monster Energy Honda’s Tosha Schareina and Adrien Van Beveren.

• The final day at Dakar is never a done deal. A handful of years ago the race was decided by a matter of seconds on the final stage between KTM teammates Kevin Benavides and Toby Price, in favour of the Argentinian.
• Not this year as Daniel Sanders takes a remarkable start-to-finish win for KTM and completes the rare honour of winning the Dakar and ISDE outright with a winning margin of 8m50s after 53h08m52s on his bike across the 12 stages.
• The Tosha Schareina, Adrien Van Beveren and Ricky BrabecHonda red army have sat behind an unassailable Sanders for the entire two weeks. But a confident ride from day one left all Daniels major rivals reflecting on ifs and buts of their own time lost on week one.
• The final 61 kilometres today was long enough, around an hour to complete and with a mass start which is a rarity for these guys who spend so much time alone in the desert.
• Easy enough you might think but as always with Dakar there was just enough jeopardy thrown in to make the butterflies swirl around.
• Sanders the racer set off from teh start and dusted his rivals, leading the pack as it ripped down the flat piste like Dakar of years gone by when it used to conclude on the shores of Lac Rose in Senagal…just up the road from Dakar funnily enough.
• Adrien Van Beveren took his chance to race like he was on Le Touquet beach once again and ran an early lead. But he was to be denied a stage win this Dakar by South African Michael Docherty who clocked in just three seconds faster to take his second stage win of his career.
• But the limelight was reserved for Sanders who completes the round 20 wins for KTM (who could do with a bit of good PR at the moment!).

• Honda will swamp the overall podium in red with four of the top six riders in the factory HRC team. Spaniard Tosha Schareina finished in second place, the youngest rider on the Honda team bettering Adrien Van Beveren who achieves his second podium on the bounce.
• Speaking of good PR for KTM, 19-year-old Dakar rookie Edgar Canet took it easy on the last day to claim the Rally 2 class win and an overall top 10. Not the best rookie appearance by a KTM rider it must be noted, we think Toby Price has that honour, but not half bad from the Spaniard who has a bright future in orange.
• Canet finishes ahead of Tobias Ebster, last year’s Original by Motul winner also on a KTM and Romain Dumontier on the customer Honda.
• The biggest contest today was in the Originals class where just one minute separated Benjamin Melot and Emanuel Gyenes. It was the Romanian Gyenes who pipped his French rival at the post, deciding the race in the last kilometres.
• Shout out to Sandra Gomez, the only female in the ’25 Dakar and who has finished in 43rd place on the Fantic. She clocks a full 15 hours more riding time than the winner Sanders.

Stage 11

Heikki Mikkola | 1978 French 500cc Race

The film 'Mikkola - Motocross Master' emphasises the sheer professionalism of Finnish rider Heikki Mikkola and shows how he mastered two major 500c Motocross events during 1978. In this clip we head to the French Grand Prix where Heikki was in fine form and too fast for his closest rivals, American Brad Lackey and Roger de Coster.

Ryan Dungey looks back on his career and talks A1

JT on San Diego SX

Who’s Hot

Chase Sexton quieted the noise around him and executed all night long. He looked comfortable, fast, and confident. He got good starts, too. Job well done at round one.

Ken Roczen shows up at races like A1. Almost always has. He doesn’t seem to feel the pressure that others do and uses that to bring his best stuff.

Jason Anderson needs wins and podiums to get a new contract and that’s exactly the form he showed on Saturday.

Eli Tomac was fifth at the checkers but woulda coulda shoulda been in the fight for the win. He’s back and it’s awesome to see.

Jo Shimoda started fast and rode flawlessly. For everyone wondering if he could ever get a series going before halfway (including me), he answered.

JuJu Beaumer proved that he will be a guy in the 250 class moving forward. Potential is one thing but acting on it is the next step.

I was very impressed with Cole Davies in his first pro race. He looked the part in every way. If this is the starting point, watch out.

Ducati announced their new team dynamic and plan. Their debut model is a work of art aesthetically.

The opener marked the best finish of JuJu's young career.Align Media

Who’s Not

Jett and Hunter Lawrence didn’t look like they were enjoying themselves on Saturday. The rumor was that they have been fighting the 2025 chassis on SX and that played out in painful ways under the Anaheim lights. They need to sort that out and quickly.

Levi Kitchen was unable to race with the flu and will now switch to the East Region. I am very much not on board with the “avoiding Deegan” theme that I have seen floated. Going east is no picnic versus that west lineup.

Dylan Ferrandis got Breece’d in the LCQ and missed the first main event of the season. Racing unfamiliar riders can be tough but I will always, always remain steadfast that passing on the outside in the LCQ is a fool’s game. Think Cade Clason and Justin Starling at Glendale, also.

Bold Predictions

Jett and Hunter arrive to San Diego on 2024 HRC models with the number “2025” spray painted on the shrouds.

Dylan Ferrandis rides with Vince Friese all week as a sort of LCQ Boot Camp.

KTM delivers 300 new bikes to Chase Sexton’s house in lieu of his A1 bonus.

Flat earthers are enraged that Ty Masterpool’s SX title chances are now dashed.

The Secret Honda Two-Stroke changed the world

Dakar 2025 Stage 10

Michael Docherty Triumphs in the Empty Quarter, Danile Sanders Extends Overall Lead

On a stage where many top contenders tactically eased off to secure favourable starting positions for tomorrow’s longer dunes stage, South African rider Michael Docherty stole the show with a commanding performance. Navigating 117 kilometres of sand with precision, Docherty claimed his maiden Dakar stage victory, finishing 1′20″ ahead of Rui Gonçalves and 2′21″ ahead of Tobias Ebster.

Meanwhile, title contenders focused on conserving energy for the second stage in the Empty Quarter, expected to be even more decisive. Daniel Sanders maintained his grip on the overall lead, holding a 16′31″ advantage over Tosha Schareina and 22′24″ over Adrien Van Beveren.

The 115-kilometre special stage, though relatively short, was preceded by a gruelling 520-kilometre liaison that tested the endurance of all riders. The dunes proved both a challenge and an opportunity, as the best navigators and riders rose to the occasion. For Docherty, who lives near the Empty Quarter and is a master of its terrain, the stage was a perfect match for his skills.

“I’ve been waiting for the dunes for all Dakar,” Docherty shared. “Even though it was a short one, it was nice to get back to it. I had one crash, which hurt my shoulder a little bit more, but I just pushed through and was just trying to make my best time today.”

Docherty’s victory marks only the second time a Rally 2 rider has won a Dakar stage since the category’s inception in 2022. His triumph also ends South Africa’s 22-year drought in Dakar motorbike stage wins, the last being Alfie Cox in 2003. Remarkably, Docherty is racing with number 22, adding a layer of serendipity to his historic win.

Anderson details contact that led to front wheel damage

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Section: Competition Post: Alex Gobert

Finishes third at A1 following clash with Jett Lawrence out of the gates.

Anaheim 1 podium finisher Jason Anderson has detailed the contact with Jett Lawrence out of the gates that left him to manage front wheel damage throughout the 450SX main event. In the end, he was able to make a statement with a P3 result.

Anderson is on a contract year with Monster Energy Kawasaki and is motivated to continue challenging toward the front of the pack, quickly establishing himself as one of the form riders of 2025.

The pair – Anderson and defending premier class title-holder Lawrence – came together upon the start of the final at A1, which ultimately resulted in snapped spokes in the front wheel of Anderson’s KX450SR and left Lawrence caught up on the tuff blocks to commence the new season.

“When I came out of the gate I kind of got squirrely and tangled bars and ripped some spokes out,” recalled the 2018 champion. “I don’t know, it was nothing crazy, but whenever you see them hitting your fork in the air it kind of makes you nervous.

“Like, you don’t want your front wheel to blow out when you’re riding. Then I started making mistakes left and right because I was just thinking about my front wheel.

“Luckily, I was able to get into a groove and when I got passed by Kenny [Roczen] I just tried to latch onto him and bring it in. I had a little bit of pressure from Cooper [Webb] at the end, but I’m just thankful my front wheel held together, because I could’ve been on the ground pretty hard because of that.”

Anderson completed the first series of turns in fifth and then almost immediately shuffled his way to second behind teammate Jorge Prado, before taking the lead on the opening lap. He was tracked down by eventual winner Chase Sexton (Red Bull KTM) and Roczen, but withstood late pressure from Webb to hold onto third on the podium.

Dakar Highlights Stage 9