Winning brutal Dakar Rally a wild dream come true for Victorian Daniel Sanders

Off-road motorbike racer Daniel “Chucky” Sanders has been an unstoppable force since he was a kid — but he says winning the brutal Dakar Rally in the Saudi desert has been a boyhood dream come true.

Daniel Sanders readily admits he is a bad loser. Not really a team player either.

It probably helps then that he spends his life racing off-road motorbikes for days on end. All on his own.

And probably just as well that Sanders controls his own destiny through the twitchy throttle of a 450cc KTM.

So, all that singular focus, coupled with talent and hard work, culminated in the biggest triumph of his sporting career, the 2025 Dakar Rally crown.

“To win the Dakar, the biggest off-road race for motorcycles and motorsport in the world it’s the pinnacle of racing for us,” he says.

“And to finally tick that off and to achieve this goal for myself was massive.”

But first things first. Sanders is known around the world as Chucky. It’s on his racing gear and he now does a handy trade in Chucky merch. But why?

“When I was a kid, I used to throw up a lot, drinking too much milk or food.

“As a toddler, I always used to chuck up on Dad.

“I don’t know how to stop in anything I do, so there’s never the limit.’’

Daniel Sanders wins the Dakar Rally 2025. Picture: AFP

(That no-limit mantra would stand him in good stead later.)

“All of my friends now still call me Chucky. So it’s stuck. Not many people know me as Daniel. And it’s not from the crazy doll – let’s make that clear.”

Chucky, um Sanders, is now home, relaxed, smiling – always smiling – and just soaking in the reality of his towering achievement.

Home is the third-generation Sanders family’s apple and honey farm nestled in the picturesque Yarra Ranges hamlet of Three Bridges, east of Melbourne. It is fitting therefore that the Chucky logo features a red apple and dripping honey.

The apple orchard is a great place to be grounded, the kind of retreat where phone service is, well, optional.

Daniel Sanders says the race is physically brutal and mentally demanding. Picture: AFP

Sanders’ profile has ballooned almost overnight, a daunting prospect for any athlete facing an elevation in the fame game.

“I’m not going to change,’’ he says casually, yet with some certainty.

“I’m sure some new doors are going to open but I’ll just take some of those opportunities and make the most of it.”

He does get recognised more but the fact he is usually seen wearing a helmet while competing helps provide some anonymity.

The hills around Three Bridges are a world away from the sand and rocks of the Saudi desert, the scene of his remarkable conquest – 14 days over 8000km of racing at full throttle.

The notion is put to him that some sporting contests are over in just an hour or so, and he pauses for a moment. Then replies: “yeah, but nah.”

Dakar champion Daniel ‘Chucky’ Sanders at his Yarra Valley home and family apple orchard. Picture: David Caird

Those tree-lined slopes provided a young Sanders with endless tracks to enjoy, explore and hone his skill, starting on an 80cc Suzuki at the age of eight.

“The apple farm has some of the slipperiest terrain around Australia really, especially in the winter,” he says.

“So (there are) high rainfalls here and a lot of trees to dodge.

“So it was good for the slow technical skills, and getting out on the grass tracks here was my first taste of speed, going ripping up and down chasing cows around.

“And then when I got into more desert racing, that’s where the speed in the sand and all that really, really paid off.” Dakar glory completes a boyhood dream after years of dedication, too many broken bones and a drive, or ride in this case, to succeed.

“I’ve just always had a competitiveness that I’ve grown up with,” Sanders says.

“I just hated losing from the get-go.

“I hate losing. Even if my girlfriend beats me at a board game or something, I’ll flip it and lose it.”

Sanders attended Upper Yarra Secondary College and was a handy footballer for the Powelltown Demons but concedes that the whole team dynamic challenged him.

“Yeah, I played basketball, cricket, footy, and when our footy team wasn’t good, and we never won a game I hated it every day.

“Because even if you put the work in to be one of the best players, then you always had to rely on the team to be good, as well.

“So that’s where motorbikes worked for me, because I could always put in the work and the effort. What I put in, I got out.”

Then came the decision that changed his life.

“I was going … should I play footy or motos?

“No, I think motos is cooler than footy.”

Daniel Sanders all set to go at age 8.

He later realised that dirt bike racing at the top level could take him around the world.

“But it was always the dream. To do what I’m doing now is pretty, pretty wild. Pretty cool.”

Winning local titles as a teenager, then state and national success, moved him into the sport’s elite and a place on the world stage.

As two-time Australian Offroad Champion, Sanders got his first taste of desert sand in 2016 and went on to win the International Six Days Enduro event, and the five-day Sonora Rally in the US in 2023, then the Rallye du Maroc in Morocco last year.

His Dakar career started in 2021 when he finished a solid fourth overall and was awarded the best rookie.

Subsequent attempts were cruelled by a crash in 2022, a bout of food poisoning in 2023 and injuries last year.

But everything came together this year, with Sanders securing five stage wins, and leading the race from start to finish – only the second rider ever to achieve the feat.

The event, which began as the Paris-to-Dakar rally in 1979, is now held in different countries with different routes every year.

As if the 2025 race itinerary – the actual riding for hundreds of kilometres in extreme conditions for days on end – isn’t punishing enough, even the daily ritual can be a test in itself.

He says his body needs to be good and his mind must stay calm and focused during the race. Picture: KTM

“You’ve got a three o’clock wake-up. You prepare for an hour in your camper, get dressed, and get all your food packed in your jackets.

“Then we drive to the start of the race stage.

“So we’ll do somewhere between 50 to 200km to the start line, or the biggest day was 500km just to the start line one morning.

“Then you get to the start line, and you’ve got about half an hour, 40 minutes, to switch from cruising on the road and then you go, on full gas, 100 per cent focus, 160 km/h, dodging rocks and camels and trees and bushes and stuff.”

The day ends with (hopefully) a winner’s ceremony, sometimes an ice bath, food, and then bed by 7.30. And repeat.

Sanders relaxes in his ‘man cave’ shed, adorned with trophies, bikes and various parts. Picture: David Caird

The race is physically brutal and mentally demanding.

“It’s going 14 days, just going through terrain you haven’t seen before.

“It’s physical, depending on the terrain. If you’re in the sand dunes, it’s going to be hot. There’s no air flow down there, and you’re working harder because the sand is soft.

“And then you’re on the rocky terrain, the bike’s moving everywhere, and you’re just … you’re gripping, you’re trying to not let the bike fall or you crash and land on something sharp.

“You need your body to be good and your mind to be able to stay calm and focused and to read the information on the road book (navigation).

Sanders says he realised dirt bike racing at the top level could take him around the world. Picture: David Caird

Even when back home, Sanders is still a longway from his girlfriend of three years, vet Emme Williams, who lives and works in northern Victoria.

“Yeah, she’s four hours away, but she grew up seven hours from me, because her family has a farm up in Young.”

When Williams was studying at uni and doing placements around the country, Sanders would still visit her by driving the “Nav” – a Navara Pro-4X Warrior ute he drives daily, thanks to his role as Nissan Australia ambassador – to see her.

“You can just load up the Nav with all the gear and go – drive up there with pushies and motorbikes. And there’s always someone to ride with in Australia.”

But finding time to be together as a couple is still clearly a challenge.

“The time I’m away, she focuses on her job, and I do mine. So yeah, it’s tough, but we’re both passionate in what we do, and we both support each other where we can.

“Emme’s been with me for the lowest of the lows, with broken femurs, elbows and all that, and we can now enjoy the highs after I’ve won a couple of races.”

Sanders reckons he only has five to eight years of rally racing to go, so jokes he may end up being a vet assistant because of his love of animals.

“I might be a nurse for Emme or something – I’m already half doing that. So it keeps it interesting.

“I was that kid sitting in the petting zoo all day at the local carnival.”

Daniel Sanders says finding time to be with his partner, Emme Williams, is still clearly a challenge. Picture: Supplied

Sanders relaxes (something he admits he’s not good at) in his “man cave” shed, adorned with trophies, bikes and various parts.

Any downtime is usually spent being active – “there’s always jobs to do around the farm” with border collie Woody at his side, riding the bike, or simply catching up with mates.

On this day he was looking forward to hanging out with Collingwood players – and dirt bike nuts – Beau McCreery and Jordan de Goey for a beer and a meal of steak and chips.

Sanders is also close friends with Australia’s other dirt-bike champions – the brothers Jett and Hunter Lawrence – who are dominating the American motocross scene from their Florida base.

“I have spent a fair bit of time training with them. And during Covid, when I couldn’t come back and I was in America, I trained at their facility in Florida that they now own.

“They work hard. Jett’s pretty similar to me – he’s mentally strong. Just wants to be better. And his work ethic is pretty strong as well.”

Hard work, mental toughness … sound familiar? Just add no limits.
Additional reporting by Toby Hussey