Daniel Sanders Wins Rally-Raid Portugal as KTM Regains Momentum
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Daniel Sanders returned to winning form with a hard-fought victory at Rally-Raid Portugal, round two of the 2026 FIM World Rally-Raid Championship. In a rally shaped by rain, deep mud, and constantly changing conditions, the Australian led the event from start to finish and secured back-to-back overall wins in Portugal.
Sanders controls the rally from the start
With 2,201 kilometres in total and 1,269 kilometres raced against the clock, the third edition of Rally-Raid Portugal once again mixed fast Portuguese forest tracks with sandy Spanish terrain. This year, however, the weather added a brutal twist, with torrential rain turning the route into a slippery and unpredictable challenge.
Despite still being in recovery mode after the Dakar, where he raced with an injured shoulder, Sanders came out flying. He won the opening three-kilometre prologue by a single second, then laid down a major statement on stage one by beating the field by 2 minutes and 10 seconds over 180 kilometres of racing.
From there, the fight at the front turned into a direct duel between Sanders and Tosha Schareina. The two traded stage wins through the middle part of the rally, but Sanders never gave away the overall lead. On the long and technical stage around Badajoz, Spain, he handled the wet conditions and difficult navigation perfectly to stretch his advantage again.
By the time the rally returned to Portugal for stage four, Sanders still held a crucial 1 minute 46 seconds lead. On the final full stage, Schareina struck early, but Sanders responded by building an advantage through the second half of the day and carried that pace all the way to the finish. The result gave him his 29th W2RC stage win and another overall triumph at Rally-Raid Portugal.
Daniel Sanders said:
“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.”
Strong ride from Edgar Canet
Edgar Canet also delivered an impressive performance for KTM. The young Spaniard started strongly with fourth place in the prologue, but both he and Luciano Benavides made the call to run the harder-compound desert tyre — a choice that proved costly as the conditions stayed wet and muddy.
Even with that disadvantage, Canet stayed competitive throughout the event, recording two top-five stage finishes and ending the rally in fourth overall. That result lifts him to seventh in the world championship standings after two rounds.
Edgar Canet said:
“It’s been a good week for me overall. I had a good balance with my speed and I’m still learning a lot in every race we take part in. We didn’t make the perfect tire selection, but despite that, with the help of the team, we kept focused and pushed all the way to the end.”
Benavides limits the damage and keeps championship lead
Fresh from his Dakar 2026 victory, Luciano Benavides also paid the price for tyre choice in Portugal, but the Argentine stayed smart and consistent through the difficult conditions. After opening the rally in 15th after the prologue, he gradually worked his way up the order with a series of top-10 stage results.
Benavides finished the rally in ninth overall, which was enough to keep hold of the championship lead heading into round three — his home event, the Desafío Ruta 40 in Argentina.
Luciano Benavides said:
“For sure, it was not the race I was hoping for here in Portugal, but I knew if I kept pushing and finished in one piece, I would be able to keep the lead of the championship, which is super important for me. The season is very long, and you have to perform in all sorts of different terrain to succeed.”
KTM leaves Portugal with confidence restored
For KTM, Portugal brought a bit of everything: victory for Sanders, a strong top-four for Canet, and a solid points-saving ride from Benavides. Team manager Andreas Hölzl was clear that the result puts Sanders right back into the championship fight while keeping Luciano in control of the standings.
Rally-Raid Portugal 2026 – Top Results
- Daniel Sanders (KTM) – 11:03:53
- Tosha Schareina (Honda) – +1:56
- Adrien Van Beveren (Honda) – +8:25
- Edgar Canet (KTM) – +20:44
- Bruno Santos (Husqvarna) – +20:46
- Luciano Benavides (KTM) – +27:47
Championship standings after round two
- Luciano Benavides (KTM) – 48 points
- Tosha Schareina (Honda) – 44 points
- Daniel Sanders (KTM) – 42 points
- Ricky Brabec (Honda) – 38 points
- Adrien Van Beveren (Honda) – 31 points
- Edgar Canet (KTM) – 24 points
With Portugal done, the championship now heads to Argentina for round three. Sanders has put himself right back in the mix, Canet keeps building, and Benavides returns home still leading the world title race.
