Chucky’s record season hailed as Australia sweeps MXoN and Speedway of Nations awards, with O’Halloran also honoured
Daniel Sanders capped a stunning 2025 by collecting his FIM World Rally-Raid Champion medal in Lausanne, Switzerland, after a season that began with a statement win at the Dakar Rally and never really let up.
The Victorian, 31, dominated one of motorcycling’s toughest disciplines aboard his KTM, taking four victories from five starts. He set the tone at the two-week Dakar in January, doubled up at the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, and made it three on the bounce at the South African Safari Rally. By the time the series hit the BP Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal, his fourth straight triumph had effectively shut the door on any title rivals. The only blip came at the finale in Morocco, where Tosha Schareina (Honda) denied him a clean sweep, though the championship was already in the bag. It’s another major milestone for a rider who previously helped Australia lift the World Trophy at the 2018 6DAYS FIM Enduro of Nations; now he adds an individual FIM gold medal to the cabinet.
Australia’s presence was felt across the ceremony. In road racing, Jason O’Halloran shared the FIM Endurance World Championship honours with YART Yamaha teammates Karel Hanika and Marvin Fritz, with team boss Manfred Kainz also recognised as YART secured the FIM Endurance Team World Championship title.
Peter Doyle, Motorcycling Australia CEO, stepped onto the stage to receive the Team award for Australia’s FIM Motocross of Nations triumph, acknowledging the back-to-back MXoN success driven by Jett Lawrence, Hunter Lawrence and Kyle Webster. And the green-and-gold kept rolling in the shale with Brady Kurtz and Jack Holder steering Australia back to the FIM Speedway of Nations crown in Torun, Poland, after a decisive 7-2 Grand Final over the hosts.
The 2025 FIM Awards played out at the SwissTech Convention Center before an audience of around one thousand, recognising 64 world titles spanning Circuit Racing, Motocross, Trial, Enduro, Cross Country Rallies and Track Racing. The show went out live globally, including via FOX Australia, with Lauriane Gilliéron and Gavin Emmett as Masters of Ceremony.
Internationally, a who’s who of the sport took centre stage. The Ultimate Champions roster included Marc Márquez as MotoGP Grand Prix World Champion, Toprak Razgatlıoğlu in WorldSBK, Romain Febvre in MXGP, Josep Garcia in EnduroGP, Toni Bou in TrialGP and Bartosz Zmarzlik in Speedway GP—alongside Sanders as RallyGP World Champion. Márquez also received a surprise FIM Sporting Trophy to close the night. Earlier, Jonathan Rea helped present the circuit racing medals, while Motocross and Trial luminaries Harry Everts and Sammy Miller joined proceedings for their disciplines.
Reflecting on the night, FIM President Jorge Viegas said: “To be able to celebrate this occasion in the FIM’s home country for the very first time and to have every 2025 FIM World Champions in attendance has cemented this edition of the FIM Awards to be one of the best we have enjoyed in the fifteen year history of this unique event.”
Sanders will return to defend his Dakar Rally crown on the 3rd of January, while Jett and Hunter Lawrence will be starting the 2026 AMA Supercross season in top form, beginning January 10 at Anaheim. Jason O’Halloran will be attempting to win the British Superbike championship with Honda after lifting the WEC World Championship team trophy this year.
