The Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider dominated Rally Raid Portugal to clinch the title with one round to spare.
Portugal represented the fourth straight win for Sanders after triumphs at the Dakar Rally, Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, and South Africa Safari Rally.
Riding a KTM 450 Rally, Sanders won three of the five stages as well as the pre-event prologue.
All told, Sanders was victorious by three minutes and 40 seconds over nearest rival Tosha Schareina on the top Honda.
“It’s a dream come true to win the world championship,” said Sanders.
“You think about it when you’re a kid no matter what sport you do, but I chose motorbikes, and it worked out really well.
“The race here has gone so well, and the bike has been perfect, so a massive thank you to the team for all the hard work they put in.
“It’s very rare to have this sort of consistency in rally as it’s often so unpredictable. But up to now, we’ve put in a perfect season, and we’ll still be aiming to carry that into Morocco.
“It’s still all sinking in really. I’m happy to get the world championship here in Portugal and hopefully, there’s a lot more to come.”
With one round remaining, Sanders has an unassailable 113 points to his name over Argentine KTM teammate Luciano Benavides on 69 points.
“Obviously, I’m really happy for Chucky to be a world champion and a well-deserved one,” said Andreas Holzl, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rally team manager:
“He did an amazing job here and managed everything perfectly.
“He really is a pro athlete – from Dakar onwards, to win every single race and so many stages, it just shows what an amazing job he’s doing.
“For the team, for KTM, we couldn’t be happier, so congratulations to him.”
The FIM World Rally-Raid Championship season will conclude with Rallye du Maroc on October 10-17.
Discussion about this post