The Dakar Rally is more than just a competition. It’s an epic battle against nature, human limits, and despair itself. When Monster Energy Honda HRC decided to reveal the backstage of this brutal challenge, few could imagine the work and intensity required to ensure riders have all the conditions to perform at their best.

Imagine a challenge where each kilometer is a fight against the improbable. Where riders like Ricky Brabec and Skyler Howes transform the desert into a personal battlefield. Motorcycles cut through unforgiving landscapes, facing suffocating sandstorms and terrains that challenge mechanical engineering itself.

The team dismantles the romantic myth of the solitary hero. Behind the scenes, Dakar is a complex dance of strategy, resilience, and solidarity. Mechanics work tirelessly, riders share moments of vulnerability, and every second counts in a journey where success depends on millimeters and hundredths of a second.

This new perspective promises to unveil the DNA of one of the world’s most demanding competitions, which is not about arriving first, but simply about arriving. Surviving. Overcoming.

O conteúdo Video: Behind the scenes of Honda at the Dakar Rally aparece primeiro em M Sports.

Just over a week ago, KTM celebrated its 2025 Dakar Rally victory with Daniel Sanders, as well as a Rally2 win with Edgar Canet.

At present, the future remains uncertain, depending on the approval of the restructuring plan at a creditors’ meeting scheduled for February 25. However, the manufacturer’s intentions are clear: to remain in motorsports.

Gottfried Neumeister, the new CEO of the Mattighofen-based manufacturer, emphasized quoted on GPOne.com that this is an essential part of KTM’s identity, showcasing its capabilities:

– Winning the most important motorcycle categories in the Dakar is not just a sign of life but also clear proof that KTM is capable of building the best bikes in the world. And if the banks allow us to move into the third phase, we can continue to do so in the future.

In addition to the Dakar and the World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC), KTM is actively involved in other motorcycle racing disciplines, with a natural focus on MotoGP and its feeder categories (Moto2, Moto3, and the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup).

O conteúdo Crisis doesn’t keep KTM away from racing: ‘It’s a proff that KTM can build the best bikes in the world’ aparece primeiro em M Sports.

This year, Daniel Sanders secured his first victory in the Dakar Rally. It was his fifth participation, and until now, he had never even reached the podium.

An entire season lies ahead in the World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC). However, when asked about his next steps, the Australian gave only one guarantee – he wants to defend his Dakar title:

– I don’t know yet. We’ll see what happens, but we’ll be back here trying to defend it. And we still got the world championship to continue. So, we don’t stop here. We keep going and set the next goal and go for that.

Sanders’ performance was dominant: he achieved five stage victories and led from start to finish. He concluded the rally with an 8m50s advantage over Tosha Schareina (Monster Energy Honda).

O conteúdo Daniel Sanders on his future: ‘We’ll be back here trying to defend it’ aparece primeiro em M Sports.

Adrien van Beveren’s long-awaited Dakar victory didn’t come this year, but he still secured another podium finish, equaling his best-ever result.

The Frenchman from Monster Energy Honda finished the race in third place, less than 15 minutes behind the winner, Daniel Sanders (Red Bull KTM), who led the rally from start to finish.

After securing the final result with the fastest time in the last stage, van Beveren expressed regret over not clinching the title but made a promise:

– We have to risk so much to be up front. I really tried to be on the top of the podium and we couldn’t do it this time but I like to ride motorcycles in the desert so I will come back.

O conteúdo Adrien van Beveren holds his head high after missing victory: ‘I will come back’ aparece primeiro em M Sports.

With each passing day, it became increasingly likely, and Daniel Sanders secured victory in the 2025 Dakar. The rider led from the very first day, a feat achieved by only a few in history.

This Friday, in the 12th and final stage, the Australian from Red Bull KTM finished sixth but still claimed the overall win with an 8m50s lead over Tosha Schareina (Monster Energy Honda).

In a press release, Sanders emphasized the magnitude of the accomplishment, making sure to thank those who supported him while also recalling a challenging past year:

– So we have just won the Dakar Rally! It’s a massive accomplishment from myself and the team after a tough year, and I can’t thank everyone enough for the support. It’s been a long journey, and I can’t wait to celebrate with everyone! Now it’s time to kick back and relax after a long two weeks.

O conteúdo Daniel Sanders rejoices in Dakar victory: ‘It’s a massive accomplishment’ aparece primeiro em M Sports.

Tosha Schareina secured second place in the 2025 Dakar – his best result yet in his relatively short career in the event.

The Monster Energy Honda rider made an effort in the final stage to push further but finished 8m50s behind winner Daniel Sanders (Red Bull KTM). Nonetheless, Schareina expressed satisfaction:

– I’m so happy to finally be here at the finish line. This year was really really hard for everybody, but I’m super happy with this second place because we had quite a lot of problems. Three years ago I was fighting just to race here at the Dakar Rally and now I’m fighting for the win. I’m super happy and hungry for more.

The Spaniard also said: ‘I’ve been dreaming about this all my life. When I was a child I would be sat on the sofa seeing my idols and now I’m here battling with them so I’m super happy’.

O conteúdo Tosha Schareina celebrates second place at Dakar and underlines: ‘I’m hungry for more’ aparece primeiro em M Sports.

This Friday, Daniel Sanders was crowned champion of the 2025 Dakar, finishing sixth in the final stage. In the overall standings, the Red Bull KTM rider beat Tosha Schareina (Monster Energy Honda) by 8m50s.

Speaking to the championship’s official website, the Australian emphasized that every day was important and there was never a truly easy day:

– I just knew I had to start off during the week. The first week was important, and every day is important. So, you couldn’t have an easy day; it was always attack, attack, attack when you could. So, I just made sure I didn’t make any big mistakes. And since Morocco, I felt really good with the bike, and navigation, and everything. I’ve done all the years of navigation. So, now it’s just working together with that and making sure I tick it all off.

Yesterday, the penultimate stage was made challenging by fog that delayed the start. Sanders recalled: ‘It was a little tricky, but it was a really soft sand dunes, we didn’t think they were going to be this soft. We come a long way, 500km, and then a new terrain, so we didn’t know what the weather was doing. It was super soft, but we had a big gap in the lead, and we just managed that. And we knew we were pretty safe, and then we just had to get through the next two days. So, work hard early on in the race and then you could have a couple little easier days and no pressure’.

O conteúdo ‘You couldn’t have an easy day; it was always attack, attack, attack’ – Daniel Sanders aparece primeiro em M Sports.

Daniel Sanders made history and won his first Dakar Rally of his career, also becoming, among Australians, only the second to win a title in the event, after Toby Price.

The Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider led the overall standings from the start (Prologue) to the finish (Stage 12), and that in itself is extremely rare.

Naturally, after confirming the victory, Sanders or ‘Chucky’, as he is known, also made a point of celebrating the victory with some members of the team, with part of the celebrations being captured and shared on the team’s social networks.

Check out some of the celebrations of #4, the new Dakar champion.

O conteúdo Video: Daniel Sanders celebrates with KTM after Dakar victory aparece primeiro em M Sports.

There is no denying that Edgar Canet was undoubtedly one of this year’s revelations, if not the biggest, at the Dakar. The 19-year-old finished the race in eighth place overall.

The young KTM rider recalled his race in general terms and how it felt to actually be riding in the race: ‘The best moment was when I finished the prologue. It’s when I knew I was really in the Dakar and making a good race debut. So, I’m super happy with that, super happy with the result I’ve got in this race’.

Naturally very pleased with his performance, Canet is committed to continuing to work and grow: ‘Eighth overall, that’s f*****g crazy for me! I’m keeping working and I know what to improve, so I’m happy with that’.

He concluded: ‘When you arrive on a race and you can stay in front on the first year, when you see that you can be one of the riders fighting at the front, it’s an amazing feeling. I’m feeling really good, I’ll keep working and I’ll be back even more ready for next year’.

O conteúdo Edgar Canet, rookie, was a revelation in this Dakar: ‘Eighth overall is f**** crazy’ aparece primeiro em M Sports.

Closing the 2025 Dakar podium was Adrien van Beveren. The rider secured third place, matching his best-ever result, thanks to his second-fastest time on Friday in the final stage.

The Frenchman from Monster Energy Honda told the event’s official website that, after facing the toughest edition he has ever experienced, the final result is satisfying:

– It was an amazing Dakar, the most difficult I had. I thought last year was the most difficult, but this one got more difficult. We did well, I pushed all the way. I have no regrets at all, I did an amazing race, I’m really happy.

Van Beveren added: ‘To finish the Dakar is a victory and to be on the podium is even more so. For sure, I want to reach the top step, but I’m proud of my race’.

O conteúdo ‘It was the most difficult Dakar I had; I’m proud of my race’ – Adrien van Beveren aparece primeiro em M Sports.