Career results
Dakar Rally
| Year | Class | Vehicle | Position | Stages won |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Motorbike |  Honda | DNF | 0 |
| 2014 | DNF | 1 | ||
| 2015 |  KTM | DNF | 1 | |
| 2017 | 1st | 1 | ||
| 2018 | DNF | 2 | ||
| 2019 | 3rd | 2 | ||
| 2020 | DNF | 0 | ||
| 2021 | 3rd | 1 | ||
| 2022 |  Gas Gas | 1st | 1 | |
| 2023 | DNF | 0 | ||
| 2024 | DNF | 0 |
| Sam Sunderland | |
|---|---|
| Born | 15 April 1989 United Kingdom |
| Dakar Rally career | |
| Debut season | 2012 |
| Current team | Gas Gas Factory Racing |
| Former teams | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing |
| Wins | 2017 Dakar Rally 2022 Dakar Rally |
| Championship titles | |
| 2019 2022 | FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship World Rally-Raid Championship (RallyGP) |
Sam Sunderland (born 15 April 1989 in Poole) is a Dubai-based British rally raid motorcycle rider, best known for his participation in the Dakar Rally, which he won in 2017 and 2022. [1]
Sunderland made his Dakar debut in 2012, riding a Honda, after winning the UAE National Baja Championship in 2010 and 2011. [2] He was forced to retire on the third stage due to an electrical fault, and was unable to compete the following year after breaking both wrists in testing prior to the event. [3]
Riding for the factory Honda team in 2014, Sunderland became the first British rider to win a stage of the Dakar since John Deacon in 1998 when he won the second stage to move up to third in the overall classification, only to suffer engine failure the following day and drop out of the rally. [3] Later that year, he was signed to the factory KTM team, winning two stages of the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge and placing second in the Morocco Rally. Sam went on to win Morocco rally in 2015 and won Qatar sealine rally in 2016. He won the Dakar Rally in 2017.
Sunderland was the recipient of the Royal Automobile Club's 2017 Segrave Trophy "for being the first Briton to win a Dakar Rally crown by winning the motorcycle category in 2017". [4] [5]
In 2018 Dakar Rally Sam won stages 1 and 3 before crashing out in stage 4. 2019 Dakar Rally saw Sam winning stages 5 and 7, and finishing 3rd overall. [6] In 2020 edition in Saudi Arabia Sam crashed out with an injury in stage 5. [7]
| Year | Class | Vehicle | Position | Stages won |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Motorbike | Honda | DNF | 0 |
| 2014 | DNF | 1 | ||
| 2015 | KTM | DNF | 1 | |
| 2017 | 1st | 1 | ||
| 2018 | DNF | 2 | ||
| 2019 | 3rd | 2 | ||
| 2020 | DNF | 0 | ||
| 2021 | 3rd | 1 | ||
| 2022 | Gas Gas | 1st | 1 | |
| 2023 | DNF | 0 | ||
| 2024 | DNF | 0 |
The Dakar Rally or simply "The Dakar", formerly known as the "Paris–Dakar Rally", is an annual rally raid organised by the Amaury Sport Organisation. Most events since the inception in 1978 were staged from Paris, France, to Dakar, Senegal; due to security threats in Mauritania, which led to the cancellation of the 2008 rally, events from 2009 to 2019 were held in South America. Since 2020, the rally has been held in Saudi Arabia. The event is open to amateur and professional entries, professionals typically making up about eighty percent of the participants.
Daniel Pedrosa Ramal is a Spanish Grand Prix motorcycle racer who retired from regular competition after the 2018 season. He grew up in Castellar del Vallès, a village near Sabadell. He is a three-time World Champion being the 125cc world champion in 2003, 250cc world champion in 2004, the youngest ever to win it and repeated it in 2005.
Marc Coma i Camps is a Spanish rally racing motorcycle rider. He won the Dakar Rally in 2006, 2009, 2011, 2014, and 2015 riding a KTM motorcycle, and is also a six-time winner of the FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship. He was the race director of the Dakar Rally from 2016 to 2018.
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The 2010 Dakar Rally was the 32nd running of the event. It was held in South America for the second successive time, and ran from 1 to 16 January. The Amaury Sport Organisation and the governments of Argentina and Chile agreed to a return to South America for the event in February 2009.
The 2006 Dakar Rally, also known as the 2006 Paris-Dakar Rally, was the 28th running of the Dakar Rally event. The 2006 event ran from 31 December 2005 to 15 January 2006. It started from Lisbon, Portugal, and passed through Spain, Morocco, Mali, Mauritania, Guinea, before finishing in Senegal. The format included speed restrictions on motorcycles and trucks and reduced use of global positioning systems. Competitors included double world rally champion, Carlos Sainz.
Cyril Despres is a French rally racer and resident of Andorra. He won the Dakar Rally five times, in 2005, 2007, 2010, 2012 and 2013, riding a KTM motorcycle. He also won the Red Bull Romaniacs, an enduro event, three times, in 2004, 2005 and 2007, and the Erzberg Rodeo in 2002 and 2003. In the 2018 season he is one of the official drivers of the Team Peugeot Total.
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The 2013 Dakar Rally was the 35th running of the event and the fifth successive year that the event was held in South America. The event started in Lima, Peru on 5 January and finished in Santiago, Chile on 19 January after fourteen stages of competition. 448 vehicles in four classes of competition started the event, which comprised a total distance of over 8,500 kilometres. The motorcycle category was won by French rider Cyril Despres for a fifth time, riding a KTM; Marcos Patronelli took his second win in the quad competition riding a Yamaha; Stéphane Peterhansel captured his eleventh Dakar victory in the car category alongside co-driver Jean-Paul Cottret at the wheel of a Mini; and Eduard Nikolaev's maiden victory re-captured the truck category title for Kamaz.
The 2014 Dakar Rally was the 36th running of the event and the sixth successive year that the event was held in South America. The event started in Rosario, Argentina on January 5 and finished in Valparaíso, Chile on January 18 after 13 stages of competition. Marc Coma won his fourth title in the motorcycle category riding a KTM; Ignacio Casale took his maiden title in the quad category on a Yamaha; Nani Roma clinched victory in the car category for the first time, ten years after his sole motorcycle title, driving a Mini; and Andrey Karginov took his first truck category title for Kamaz.
Ruben Faria is a Portuguese rally-raid and enduro motorcycle rider, best known for his participation in the Dakar Rally in which he finished as runner-up in 2013.
The 2015 Dakar Rally was the 37th running of the event and the seventh successive year that the event was held in South America. The event started in Buenos Aires, Argentina on January 4, then ran through Argentina, Chile and Bolivia, before returning to Buenos Aires on January 17 after 13 stages of competition, for a total distance of 9,000 km (5,600 mi). For the first time, organizers reserved separate rest days for different categories so that at least two classes raced on each day.
The 2015 FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship season was the 13th season of the FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship.
Paulo Gonçalves was a Portuguese rally racing motorcycle rider. He won the FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship in 2013.
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