Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Daniel Sanders won the Rally-Raid Portugal, round two of the 2026 FIM World Rally-Raid Championship, with a hard-fought performance that saw the Australian lead the standings from start to finish, March 15-20.
Covering a total of 1367 miles, the third edition of Rally-Raid Portugal delivered its trademark mix of fast forest tracks and sandy open sections after traveling into Spain. However, with torrential rain battering the region, deep water and mud only added to the challenge of the six-day event.
Having had just two months to heal up and recover following this year’s Dakar Rally, where he completed the event with an injured shoulder, Sanders came out swinging in Portugal, topping the short but intense opening 1.9-mile Prologue by a single second.
After laying down the gauntlet to his rivals early on, Sanders backed up his Prologue performance on the first full Stage of the event by topping the timesheets by two minutes and 10 seconds after 112 miles raced against the clock.
What then followed was a fierce battle between Sanders and his closest rival, Monster Energy Honda’s Tosha Schareina, with the pair exchanging Stage wins for the remainder of the rally. Stage two went the way of the Spaniard, Schareina, but “Chucky” maintained his overall lead.
Sanders kept the momentum rolling on Friday’s Stage three, taking control of the wet conditions and technical navigation on the demanding 311-mile loop around Badajoz, Spain, to further extend his lead at the top of the standings. Despite placing second on Stage four as the rally returned to Portugal, the Red Bull KTM rider dropped just over one minute to the winner, maintaining a vital one-minute-and-46-second advantage heading into the final day.
The fifth and final Stage went all Sanders’ way. Schareina, opening the Stage, took an early lead, but Daniel was just seconds behind. By the halfway point, Sanders had begun to open up an advantage and carried that to the line. With only the short spectator Stage remaining, Sanders maintained a strong pace to the checkered flag, securing his 29th W2RC Stage win and consecutive overall victories at the Portuguese event, following his 2025 triumph.
I’m super happy to get the win here in Portugal,” Sanders said. “Tosha was pushing me the whole way in what was a tough race with slippery, demanding conditions. It feels great to return to winning form after the injury at Dakar. Delivering this result here at Rally-Raid Portugal was important, not just for my confidence, but for the whole team. Although I was able to complete the Dakar, we lost a fair few points, so to get things back on track here gives us a big boost as we fight for back-to-back championships, which is the ultimate goal this season.”
“I’m happy with my riding,” Schareina said. “It was a good battle with Daniel to the end. We did everything we could on this last Stage, and I’m happy for the second, happy for the team, we did a good job. Now we will focus on Argentina.”
Rounding out the podium was another Monster Energy Honda rider Adrien Van Beveren. “I’m happy to finish on the podium in Portugal,” Van Beveren said. “Six months ago, I finished this race over a cliff and in the hospital, so I’m happy to be back on the podium. I’ve enjoyed my riding here a lot; it’s always a special race because it’s technical. Daniel and Tosha were fast, but we were in the fight.”
Other notables were Dakar standouts Luciano Benavides (+27:47) and Ricky Brabec (+41:28), who struggled in the Enduro-like conditions and were never a factor for the win, instead settling for ninth and 14th, respectively, in the RallyGP overall, with the top Hero MotoSports rider, Ross Branch (+25:38), finishing seventh.
Honda rider Bruno Santos was fifth overall and won the Rally2 division.CN
2026 FIM World Rally-Raid Round 2 Results
OVERALL (Top 10)
- Daniel Sanders (KTM) 11:03:53
- Tosha Schareina (Hon) +1:56
- Adrien Van Beveren (Hon) +8:25
- Edgar Canet (KTM) +20:44
- Bruno Santos (Hus) +20:46
- Martim Ventura (Hon) +21:50
- Ross Branch (Her) +25:38
- Neels Theric (Kov) +26:43
- Luciano Benavides (KTM) +27:47
- Skyler Howes (Hon) +34:18
Click here to read the 2026 FIM World Rally-Raid Round 2 Results in the Cycle News Digital Edition Magazine.
