Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Daniel Sanders has set the fastest time at the midway point of the 2025 Dakar Rally’s grueling 48-hour chrono stage, maintaining his lead in the overall standings. Following a physically demanding second day in Saudi Arabia, Sanders, Luciano Benavides, and Edgar Canet reached the fifth rest point (out of six) for the two-day stage, while Kevin Benavides safely arrived at the fourth.
Stage two of the 2025 Dakar features a 48-hour marathon format, where riders cover a total of 947 kilometers over two days of racing. At 5:00 pm local time, all competitors were required to stop at the next bivouac they reached. Daniel, Luciano, and Edgar all arrived at the penultimate stop, Break Point E, having covered 617 kilometers of the timed special, while Kevin reached Break Point D. The KTM 450 RALLY riders now face a shorter day of racing scheduled for tomorrow to complete the demanding two-day stage.
Thanks to his stage one victory, Sanders was awarded a beneficial start position as the last RallyGP rider to set off from Bisha. Venturing into Saudi Arabia’s Empty Quarter, Sanders immediately set about chasing down his competitors and took the lead by the second checkpoint. After 320 kilometers and nearly four hours of racing, ‘Chucky’ caught up to the group opening the stage and began to rack up precious time bonuses. Reaching the penultimate rest stop at 5:00 pm, 617 kilometers into the demanding special, the Australian holds both the provisional stage and overall rally leads.
Luciano Benavides made a strong start to the two-day stage, registering the fifth-fastest time at the first checkpoint. Facing the first dunes of this year’s event, Luciano rose to the challenge and remained focused on his roadbook while maintaining a strong pace to end the day in ninth place.
Proving his consistency and experience, Kevin Benavides successfully completed 599 kilometers against the clock on the first day of the 48-hour stage two. Ending the day at Break Point D, just one stop behind his teammates, the Argentinian lies in 26th at the midway point of the stage. Kevin will look to move up the rankings tomorrow, making the most of the 348 kilometers left to race of the unique timed special.
Rally2 challenger Edgar Canet continued his strong run of form on day two of the 2025 Dakar Rally, fighting for the class lead for nearly eight hours. Canet pushed hard from the start while ensuring he didn’t make any navigational mistakes on the demanding terrain and joined teammates Daniel and Luciano at Break Point E at 5pm. The young Spaniard lies second in Rally2 and seventh overall at the halfway point of the stage, a strong pair of results which he will aim to maintain tomorrow.
For the second half of the challenging 48-hour chrono stage, riders will set off on Monday morning in the order they arrived at their respective rest points to cover the remaining distance of timed special. Daniel, Luciano, and Edgar have 330 kilometers left to race against the clock, with Kevin contesting a further 18 kilometers, before being reunited with the Red Bull KTM team at the end of the stage.
Andreas Hölzl – Rally Team Manager: “It was a really long stage today, and it was tough with a lot of dunes but finally the guys made it to the rest stops. Sanders is doing really well and Edgar has done a great job too without any mistakes today. Luciano is on track for a great result and Kevin is still in the game. We’re looking forward to finishing the stage tomorrow!”
Provisional Results – 2025 Dakar Rally, Stage 2a
1. Daniel Sanders (AUS), KTM, Break Point E, 7:41:56
2. Ricky Brabec (USA), Honda, Break Point E, 7:42:36 +0:40
3. Ross Branch (BWA), Hero, Break Point E, 7:45:47 +3:51
4. Tosha Schareina (ESP), Honda, Break Point E, 7:47:05 +5:09
5. Skyler Howes (USA), Honda, Break Point E, 7:50:34 +8:38
