Making his competitive debut for GASGAS Factory Racing at Rally Kazakhstan, Daniel Sanders has safely completed stage one in ninth place overall. A little cautious through the high speed, mixed terrain special, and also suffering from a minor loss of focus after stopping for fuel, the Aussie remains optimistic of turning his race around and climbing the leaderboard in the days ahead.
Daniel Sanders: “It was going pretty good until the first fuel stop. After that I lost a little bit of my focus and struggled with the stage as it was quite high-speed. There were a lot of fast roads, really hardpack with ruts in so it was a little sketchy. I kept focused on my roadbook and made a few little mistakes here and there so it wasn’t my best day, but not the worst either. The sand dunes were fun, though! From here on out I’m looking to get the ball rolling and building some momentum to finish this rally strong.”
Despite not being overly happy with his stage one result, we’re happy to see our new guy out there ripping around the desert on his GASGAS RC 450F. Ninth overall is a solid start for Sanders and one that he can easily build on as the race continues.
Stage two of Rally Kazakhstan will allow Daniel to regroup, get on the gas, and navigate his way to Bay Kendirli, which overlooks the Caspian Sea. To reach there, he’ll need to successfully navigate his way through the 280km special, which comprises numerous desert tracks, with pinpoint accuracy.
Results (provisional): Rally Kazakhstan 2021, stage 1
1. Ross Branch (Yamaha) 3:14:07
2. Matthias Walkner (KTM) 3:16:15
3. Skyler Howes (Husqvarna) 3:17:44
9. Daniel Sanders (GASGAS) 3:31:30
Overall Provisional Classification (after stage 1)
1. Ross Branch (Yamaha) 3:19:53
2. Matthias Walkner (KTM) 3:22:04
3. Skyler Howes (Husqvarna) 3:23:36
9. Daniel Sanders (GASGAS) 3:37:18