2023 Sonora Rally, Mexico
Stage Two
Shortened to just 162 kilometres and delayed for an hour due to safety reasons, stage two of the 2023 Sonora Rally still posed a sizeable challenge to all competitors. Featuring fast, broken tracks and a section of dunes on the way to Puerto Peñasco, the stage was as beautiful as it was demanding.
Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing’s Daniel Sanders had lots to be happy with at the end of the second full day of racing as the Aussie charger topped the day’s timesheets to claim victory and move into the provisional overall rally lead.
Among the first riders into today’s shortened special stage, Sanders managed to ride his way through the opening 40-50-kilometres without any troubles, before finding his rhythm, and dodging the local wildlife! Head down and mistake free, Chucky topped the provisional results in a time of one hour and 28 minutes, more than one minute ahead of his closest challenger Tosha Schareina.
Second on stage one and now winner on stage two, Sanders holds the provisional overall rally lead, just 21 seconds ahead of Schareina.
Daniel Sanders
“Yeah it was a good day for me. I started second, managed to get through the opening kilometers ok, but there were some sketchy places out there. So I was just pleased that I didn’t crash, and got through to some nice flowing tracks. I was just trying not to make any mistakes and ride smooth. I almost hit a cow at about 140 kilometres an hour, and also saw a few really big snakes, so it was an eventful stage. I got a good result and avoided any cactuses, so all good for me.”
Frustratingly for Chucky’s GASGAS Team, it was anything but a good day for defending rally world champion Sam Sunderland, as the Brit crashed out of both the stage and the event early on in the day’s shortened special stage! At kilometre 24, Sunderland crashed when he overshot a super high-speed right turn, plowing into a washed-out section of track and falling from his GASGAS RX 450F. Banged up, shaken up, and fortunate to escape serious injury, Sam was quickly back on his feet but out of the event.
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Toby Price fought back from his day one disappointment to place fourth fastest on Tuesday’s stage two of the Sonora Rally. After a navigational mistake cost him dearly on the opening day, Toby Price knew he had to push hard to stay in contention on day two. Second quickest on time for much of the stage, Toby lost out slightly when the time bonuses were awarded to the top three riders who had opened the stage. Despite that, Price placed fourth, just under three minutes behind the provisional leader and now sits ninth overall in the provisional standings with three days left to race.
Toby Price
“It was a good stage, I’m pleased with my speed out there, it was just all really fast with little in the way of navigation. Not the best stage to start behind and try and make up time, but I gave it my all and I’m pleased to make the finish safe and in one piece. We’ll see what tomorrow brings.”
Suffering a crash early on in the timed special at around kilometre 18, Skyler Howes was forced to withdraw from the stage with a shoulder injury. The 2022 Sonora Rally winner will unfortunately play no further part in this year’s event.
Sonora Rally competitors have a further three days of competition ahead of them before they finish at San Luis Stadium on Friday afternoon (Saturday morning our time). On Wednesday racers will ride a 347 kilometre loop.
2023 Sonora Rally
Stage Two Provisional Classification
- Daniel Sanders (GASGAS) 1:28:08
- Tosha Schareina (Honda) 1:29:23
- Ricky Brabec (Honda) 1:30:26
- Toby Price (KTM) 1:31:07
- Ross Branch (Hero) 1:32:18
- Pablo Quintanilla (Honda) 1:32:297
- Kevin Benavides (KTM) 1:33:01
- Luciano Benavides (Husqvarna) 1:33:30
10. Matthias Walkner (KTM) 1:33:49
2023 Sonora Rally
Provisional Overall Classification after Stage Two
- Daniel Sanders (GASGAS) 3:46:59
- Tosha Schareina (Honda) 3:47:20
- Ricky Brabec (Honda) 3:51:15
- Pablo Quintanilla (Honda) 3:51:55
- Luciano Benavides (Husqvarna) 3:53:48
- Matthias Walkner (KTM) 3:54:049.
9. Toby Price (KTM) 3:56:01
10. Kevin Benavides (KTM) 3:56:43
