The 47th Dakar Rally which was run in Saudi Arabia for the 6th time, once again delivered all the excitement one expects from the unique speed endurance event that it is. As has been the case for the last few years, Australians featured prominently throughout the 14-day event.
Racing in his 5th Dakar and having gained notoriety of being the highest ranked rookie on debut by finishing 4th in 2021, Victorian rider Daniel Sanders became the second Australian alongside Toby Price (2026 and 2019) to win the ultimate prize in the bike division. He won the first three stages this year and was never caught, also becoming the first rider to lead from start to finish since Spain’s Mark Coma in 2009.
Speaking on the Channel 9 ‘Today’ show just after winning, Daniel said he got “instant chills” as he rode toward the finish line.
“I was super nervous. I couldn’t believe it. All the emotions started coming through and I could see the finishing line. To win the six-day international enduro and now the Dakar, it’s just ticked off all the goals for my career.
“After the last three years of a lot of lows, now we’ve got the up, so all the hard work has paid off.”
Here’s an insight into Daniel Sanders and his quest to eventually win the famed ‘Dakar’ race:
UNLOCKED | Daniel Sanders’ Dakar Journey: The World’s Toughest Race
Dakar Portraits – Daniel Sanders
Two-time winner of the Dakar Rally in 2016 and 2019, Toby Price again lined up for the event which he debuted in 2015 and then in 2016 won, becoming the only person to ever win Dakar on their second attempt, and the only Australian to ever win any class of the Dakar.
After a tumultuous 2024 where he unfortunately lost his factory KTM ride, for 2025 Toby turned to four wheels and along with his two-time Dakar winning rider teammate Sam Sunderland as navigator entered a Toyota in the ultra-competitive T1+ category.
After the first three days, Price and Sunderland were early contenders for a podium but suffered an axle failure on Stage 4, losing five hours as they waited for help and then at the end of stage 6, following a series of concussions suffered by Sam and after medical advice saw the team retire the car.
This SBS Sport story looks at the Price retirement as well as that of fellow Australian bike rider Andrew Houlihan:
The end of the road for Toby Price and Andrew Houlihan at Dakar 2025 – SBS Sport
The only Australian debutant in the 2025 Dakar Rally was a young man who was no stranger to the bike racing scene, Toby Hederics from Gol Gol in Victoria who was riding a KTM.
Toby’s father is John Hederics, six-time Moto (1990, 91, 92, 94, 95 and 96) and four-time Auto winner (2003, 04, 07 and 12) of the Australian Safari desert race, and he grew up watching his dad race rallies with the dream of one day competing in the Dakar Rally, and this year that dream came true.
Toby’s goal on debut was to firstly finish and hopefully in the top 20, which he certainly succeeded in doing by finishing 19th outright out of 134 starters, 9th in the Rally 2 category and 2nd of the rookie
In this SBS Sport story Conor McNally talks with Toby Hederic prior to this year’s Dakar rally.
Mildura’s Toby Hederics hyped for impending Dakar debut – SBS Sport
Having been a desert racing fan for many years and lucky enough to compete in four Australian Safari’s, I’m really thrilled to see the overall success the Australian contingency had at this year’s Dakar. It shows the depth of talent we have in this country and hopefully this year’s achievements will increase the sport’s profile here.
