Daniel Sanders overcomes sodden conditions and a stiff challenge from Honda’s Schareina to take World Rally-Raid round two honours
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Daniel Sanders has taken a hard-earned win at Rally-Raid Portugal, round two of the 2026 FIM World Rally-Raid Championship, leading the event from start to finish in a performance that underlined both speed and composure in some of the toughest conditions the rally has seen. The Australian emerged on top after six days of racing across Portugal and Spain, while teammate Edgar Canet steered his KTM 450 RALLY to a strong fourth overall. Further back, 2026 Dakar Rally winner Luciano Benavides finished ninth, a result that was enough to keep him at the head of the championship standings.
Now in its third running, Rally-Raid Portugal covered 2,201 kilometres in total, with 1,269 kilometres raced against the clock. The event’s usual recipe of rapid forest tracks in Portugal and sandy, more open terrain after crossing into Spain was still on the menu, but this year the conditions became the defining storyline. Torrential rain soaked the region and turned stages into a test of survival as deep water crossings and heavy mud amplified the navigation and endurance demands across the entire rally.
For Sanders, the victory carries extra weight given his lead-in to the event. After completing this year’s Dakar Rally with an injured shoulder, he arrived in Portugal with only two months to recover, yet immediately set the tone by winning the short but intense three-kilometre prologue by a single second. That early statement became something more significant on the first full stage, where Sanders topped the timesheets by a commanding two minutes and 10 seconds after 180 kilometres of timed racing, building an advantage that proved crucial as the rally settled into a rhythm.
From there, the fight tightened into a head-to-head contest with Tosha Schareina, with stage wins traded as both riders pushed hard through the wet, changing terrain. Stage two went to the Spaniard, but Sanders did enough to preserve the overall lead and keep control of the event as the pressure intensified.
A pivotal moment came on Friday’s stage three, a demanding 501-kilometre loop around Badajoz in Spain, where Sanders handled the slick conditions and technical navigation to extend his advantage. Even when he placed second on stage four after the rally returned to Portugal, the damage was limited to just over a minute, allowing him to carry a one-minute-and-46-second buffer into the final day with everything still to ride for.
Sanders left no doubt on the last day. With Schareina opening the stage and jumping to an early lead, the Australian stayed within striking distance, shadowing him by only seconds. By halfway, Sanders began to break the contest open, gradually increasing the margin and carrying it through to the finish. With only the short spectator stage remaining, he kept the pace controlled and brought it home to seal his 29th W2RC stage win and a second straight overall victory at Rally-Raid Portugal following his 2025 triumph, further cementing his status as one of the championship’s form riders even as Benavides retains the points lead after two rounds.
Daniel Sanders – P1
“I’m super happy to get the win here in Portugal. Tosha was pushing me the whole way in what was a really 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.”
Tosha Schareina – P2
“I’m really happy with my riding, it was a really good battle with Daniel to the end. We did everything we could on this last stage and I’m happy for second, happy for the team, we did a really good job. Now we will focus on Argentina.”
“I’m really happy to finish on the podium in Portugal. Six months ago I finished this race over a cliff and in the hospital, so I’m really happy to be back on the podium. I’ve enjoyed my riding here a lot, it’s always a special race because it’s really technical. Today was good, again in third. Daniel and Tosha were fast but we were in the fight. I can’t wait for Argentina now.”
Andreas Hölzl – Rally Team Manager
“Round two of the championship is done here in Portugal, and we’re really happy for Chucky, who made the perfect setup choice for the terrain and was able to push for the whole race and take another win. Definitely a well-deserved victory and it brings him right back into contention for the championship ahead of the next round. It wasn’t an easy race for Edgar and Luciano, but they both performed really well in such tough conditions and now look ahead to the next round, which will be Luciano’s home race. We leave Portugal with Edgar taking an impressive P4 in the RallyGP class and Luciano still leading the championship overall. The whole team have done an amazing job here and so we’ll focus now on Argentina and carry this momentum into round three.”
