Three stages into the Dakar Rally and Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing’s Daniel Sanders has raced to his first stage win of the 2023 event, moving into the provisional overall lead! Seizing the opportunity today to make up considerable time on his rivals, Sanders did so with a dominant stage victory and now enjoys a more-than-four-minute advantage at the head of the field. Nice work Daniel!
Daniel Sanders wins stage three at the 2023 Dakar Rally!
Red Bull GASGAS rider notches up third ever Dakar stage win
Sanders looking forward to the challenge of opening day four
Daniel Sanders: “Yeah, that’ll do! It’s nice to get a stage win and be leading, for sure. I knew my pace was good and I felt strong today, so after refueling I pushed on to the end. I had a great chance to make some time up today, which I did, and now I’m leading so it’s all good! Tomorrow will be tough though as I’ll be leading out, so it’ll be important to stay focused, but I’m looking forward to the challenge.”
Continuing with his positive start to this year’s Dakar, Sanders excelled through the sandy stage three to not only win but turn a three-minute deficit into a four-minute advantage at the top of the results. But tomorrow is when things might get interesting for the Aussie charger. As the first rider to enter stage four, the Red Bull GASGAS racer will be the first to carve a line through the rolling sand dunes, to the benefit of his chasing competitors. But given his current confidence and precise navigating skills, should Daniel clock in with another solid result, it would be an incredibly pivotal day in the desert for our man from down under.
Results (provisional): Dakar Rally 2023, stage 3
1. Daniel Sanders (GASGAS) 4:24:15
2. Skyler Howes (Husqvarna) 4:30:34
3. Mason Klein (KTM) 4:31:14
Overall Provisional Classification (after stage 3)
1. Daniel Sanders (GASGAS) 14:05:38
2. Mason Klein (KTM) 14:09:42
3. Kevin Benavides (KTM) 14:12:31