Riding to his second consecutive stage win at the 2023 Sonora Rally, Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing’s Daniel Sanders put the hammer down today to lead from start to finish and extend his provisional overall rally lead! Now competing as the sole GASGAS factory rider following the withdrawal of Sam Sunderland after the Brit’s heavy fall on yesterday’s stage two, Chucky delivered another super-impressive performance, showing that he’s certainly at home in the Mexican desert.
Despite being the first rider to head into the longest special stage of the event, Daniel set off in high spirits following his stand-out stage two victory. Pushing on but also not taking any chances, just as on stage two, the opening 40-50 kilometers of the stage proved to the trickiest, after which he was able to settle into what turned out to be a winning rhythm. Fast, consistent, and mistake free, Daniel placed close to seven minutes ahead of runner-up Tosha Schareina.
With a runner-up finish and two stage wins to his credit so far, Daniel sits seven minutes clear at the top of the provisional overall standings with two days to go.
Daniel Sanders: “It’s been another great day and a real boost to my confidence – I led out this morning and got to the end of the special stage and no one had caught me, so I’m really happy. I enjoyed the day and managed not to make any big mistakes. We had a little bit of sand today, which was cool. The first 40-50 kilometers were pretty tough. I guess I managed to find a good pace – not pushing too hard, just making sure I could keep to a decent speed and hit all my marks. Two more days to go so let’s see what they bring.”
Results Sonora Rally 2023 – stage 3 (provisional)
1. Daniel Sanders (GASGAS) 3:25:08
2. Tosha Schareina (Honda) 3:31:46
3. Ricky Brabec (Honda) 3:31:48
Provisional Standings – Sonora Rally 2023 (after stage 3)
1. Daniel Sanders (GASGAS) 7:12:07
2. Tosha Schareina (Honda) 7:19:06
3. Luciano Benavides (Husqvarna) 7:27:18