Dakar 2027 will give Daniel Sanders a challenge that extends beyond the route and the opposition from other teams. KTM will line up three riders: Australian Sanders, Luciano Benavides and young Edgar Canet. Their different competitive profiles give the factory squad several potential front-runners and create a demanding contest within its own three-rider structure.

Sanders had been dominating Dakar 2026 before a collarbone fracture forced him to continue through difficult circumstances and settle for fifth place. His season improved afterwards. He won races in Portugal and Argentina and currently leads the World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC). The central question for Dakar 2027 is therefore not whether he has the pace, but whether he can combine it with the consistency required across the event.

Two distinct challenges inside KTM

Benavides arrives with a clear sign of competitive form after winning the final stage by just two seconds. Canet brings a different profile as the younger member of the line-up. He comes from the same racing school as Benavides, associated with Jordi Viladoms, and has already won a World Rally-Raid Championship event in Morocco. He is also described as the youngest winner of a round in the championship.

KTM will therefore approach Dakar 2027 with three riders capable of adding different pressures to the race. For Sanders, a return to the front will require both pace and sustained execution, while Benavides and Canet already have strong reasons to pursue leading roles. How the team manages that internal balance will be one of the notable competitive stories of the next Dakar.