Daniel Sanders has charged to an impressive victory on day two of the Silk Way Rally, claiming his first ever stage win in the FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship, and handing GASGAS Factory Racing their first win too! Setting a blistering pace throughout the 132-kilometre special, Daniel was second fastest through the first two waypoints before putting the hammer down to secure the stage win. Following his impressive performance, the Aussie advances to seventh in the overall provisional classification.
Daniel Sanders: “It’s my first ever stage win for GASGAS and also my first ever win in the world championship, so this is pretty cool! It was good, I had good fun on today’s stage. It was quite fast for the first 50 kilometers before we entered the forest. It was pretty dense in there so visibility wasn’t so good, but fortunately the route followed a track for the most part and I just focused on the dangers. It was a little bit like a fast enduro test, which is something that I’m used to, and I really enjoyed it. I’ll lead out tomorrow and it looks like navigation will be really important, but I’m excited about the challenge ahead and look forward to going racing again.”
With Daniel enjoying a successful career in enduro before switching over to rally, his expertise paid off big time on stage two of the Silk Way Rally. A world-class tree dodger, riding with pinpoint accuracy Sanders was on the pace from the very beginning of the technical special. Still relatively new to rally, Daniel is excited to broaden his rally skills tomorrow by opening stage three.
The third day of racing at the Silk Way Rally begins with technical terrain before opening out onto fast stretches of gravel roads. With a few river crossings throughout the special to keep Daniel on his toes, it’ll no doubt be a serious test of his skills and patience. During the stage he’ll also cross the border into Mongolia and once he reaches the end, he’ll then head to the temporary bivouac in the town of Ulgiy to meet up with the rest of the GASGAS Factory Racing team.
Jordi Viladoms – GASGAS Rally Team Manager: “I’m really happy for Daniel and GASGAS Factory Racing. The technical conditions today really favored him and using his enduro skills, he rode really well to take the win. He showed his potential today and I believe that this win will be the first of many for him. With Daniel we’re taking things step-by-step, stage-by-stage even, but it’s great to be able to win a stage this early in the rally and in his career. We still have a long way to go and I’m excited to see what he can do during the rest of the rally.”
Results (provisional): Silk Way Rally 2021, stage 2
1. Daniel Sanders (GASGAS) 1:22:44
2. Ross Branch (Yamaha) 1:22:50
3. Skyler Howes (Husqvarna) 1:23:41
Overall Provisional Classification (after stage 2)
1. Ross Branch (Yamaha) 2:13:45
2. Franco Caimi (Hero) 2:16:11
3. Matthias Walkner (KTM) 2:17:03
7. Daniel Sanders (GASGAS) 2:20:13