Daniel Sanders injured ahead of Finke Desert Race
The Dakar Rally star known as Chucky will have to wait to make his Finke debut after an injury setbackDaniel Sanders will almost certainly miss the upcoming Finke Desert Race after breaking his femur in a training accident on Sunday. It is understood he was riding his GASGAS RX 450 rally bike rather than the MC 450 he was set to ride in the iconic desert race.
The Victorian rider successfully underwent surgery following the accident and is hoping for a quick recovery, however a statement from his GASGAS team suggested he could on the sidelines for “several months”.
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“I’m so annoyed, not to mention disappointed,” said Sanders. “All I was doing was having fun on the rally bike and had a small crash, but I’ve ended up with a broken leg.”
The 28-year-old popularly known as ‘Chucky’ was preparing for his first Finke Desert Race and was a favourite to win. The setback comes after his win in Mexico’s Sonora Rally – his first in the FIM World Rally-Raid Championship.
Sanders has become one of Australia’s most successful off-road riders having finished 4th at the Dakar Rally and 7th in 2022 with two stage wins.
Prior to beginning his rally-raid career with the Red Bull GASGAS team, Sanders won the 2019 Australian Off-Road Championship and the 2019 International Six Days Enduro individual title. He also has multiple Hattah Desert Race titles.
Sanders is currently fifth in the World Rally-Raid Championship rankings despite only completing two of three rounds so far.
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