Tough leg break for Daniel Sanders in training crash

Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing’s Daniel Sanders has broken his right femur in a training crash on the rally bike – “All I was doing was having fun on the rally bike and had a small crash”.

Just one month after grabbing his first ever FIM World Rally-Raid Championship race victory with his win at the Sonora Rally in Mexico, Daniels Sanders' luck changed dramatically when a minor crash while riding his GASGAS RX 450F resulted in the 28-year-old suffering a broken right femur.

Sanders was training in the Australian Outback on May 28 where he has been building up to racing the Tatts Finke Desert Race when a minor “incident” resulted in the break. “I’m so annoyed, not to mention disappointed. All I was doing was having fun on the rally bike and had a small crash, but I’ve ended up like this with a broken leg.” Daniel reflected. “Thankfully, the surgery seems to have gone well, which is good news – I’m feeling good too. It’s going to take a while before I can get back on the bike and racing again, but I’m going to do my best to make it happen ASAP. Thanks to all the team for all their support, and hopefully we can carry on the good results from Sonora into the rest of this year.”

Sanders underwent a successful surgery to repair the damage and his team report he is feeling good post-op.

Not the first...

Major injuries seem to not only be plaguing Sanders after his 2022 Dakar accident, but also several of the main players in the World Rally-Raid Championship including Red Bull KTM’s Kevin Benavides who also suffered a broken leg prior to round two in Abu Dhabi.

Following his maiden world championship win, the injury is a setback likely to put Daniel out of action for several months

Norbert Stadlbauer – Rally Team Manager: “It’s really sad for the team to have Daniel sidelined with injury so soon after he put in such an amazing performance to win the Sonora Rally. It’s been a tough year for the team with Sam (Sunderland) also suffering from injury at the beginning of the season. But we have to keep looking forward, and as such, we wish Daniel all the best for a quick recovery and look forward to having back underneath the GASGAS tent and racing again. We’re not sure how long the recovery will take, but obviously the main focus, as always, is the Dakar next January. We’ll be working our hardest to be prepared fully for then.”