After putting in a courageous effort to complete the opening stage at the 2023 Rallye du Maroc, Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing’s Sam Sunderland has made the difficult decision to withdraw from the event. Unable to race at 100% following his pre-race crash, Sam, with the support of the whole team, will now focus on getting back to full fitness before beginning to prepare for the upcoming Dakar Rally in January 2024.
It’s been a challenging year for Sam. Following a highly successful 2022 season where he claimed his second-career Dakar Rally victory, the Brit went on to be crowned FIM World Rally-Raid Champion. But in racing, anything can happen, and the cards certainly didn’t fall Sam’s way in 2023. Heal up soon, Sam, and we’ll see you at Dakar ‘24.
Andreas Hölzl – Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing Team Manager: “This is for sure not the way we wanted to end the season with Sam, but as he’s still suffering from his pre-race crash, it was the right decision for him to withdraw after stage one. Everyone at Red bull GASGAS Factory Racing supports his decision and now Sam will rest, recover, and begin focusing on the upcoming Dakar Rally in January.”