2026 World Rally-Raid Championship round two, BP Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal, final results: Red Bull KTM’s Daniel Sanders wins the two-horse race with Monster Energy Honda rally Team’s Tosha Schareina with final stage win and the overall race victory for the second year on the bounce.  

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Daniel Sanders has won round two of the 2026 FIM World Rally-Raid Championship after a hard-fought race duel with Monster Energy Honda HRC’s Tosha Schareina.

The reigning world champion Sanders and Schareina steamrolled the opposition and hogged the six RallyGP stages. The Spaniard pushed all the way to the finish, taking the final crowd-pleasing special by two seconds, but the Australian ultimately prevailed by 1′56″ in the scratch result.

It was a race where the movers and shakers of the W2RC series and Dakar struggled on the Portuguese tracks. Luciano Benavides (+27′47″) and Ricky Brabec (+41′28″) had to settle for sixth and eighth in the RallyGP standings, with the top Hero MotoSports man, Ross Branch (+25′38″), splitting the two with many looking comfortable with the enduro-like conditions. The result has a substantial impact on the championship: the Argentinian retained the lead, but Schareina (second), Sanders (third) and Brabec (fourth) are all within 10 points. KTM head the manufacturers' standings ahead of Honda and Hero.

Rally2 win for home rider Santos

Bruno Santos (Frutas Patrícia Pilar) put in a monster performance in Rally2, winning three of the six specials on his way to home victory and making a name for himself with repeated scratch podium finishes.

The Honda factory rider Martim Ventura and Kove’s Neels Theric rounded out the Rally2 podium, with the Frenchman landing the Chinese marque its first W2RC podium finish. Santos also deserves credit for finishing fifth in the FIM overall ranking against the RallyGP machinery. The championship leader, Toni Mulec (BAS World KTM), came home fifth in Rally2 and remains on top but Ventura has trimmed the gap to just 5 points.

Gonçalo Amaral (Wingmotor) joined Sanders in the select club of double winners at this event, repeating his Rally3 triumph from 2024. He opened the 2026 season at the top of the Rally3 standings, mirroring the achievement of Antanas Kanopkinas (CFMoto Thunder Racing) in the quad race. The Lithuanian finally added his name to the annals of the bp Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal after coming up one place short in 2024 and 2025.

Daniel Sanders: “I’m super happy to get the win here in Portugal. Tosha was pushing me the whole way in what was a really tough race with slippery, demanding conditions. It feels great to return to winning form after the injury at Dakar. Delivering this result here at Rally-Raid Portugal was important, not just for my confidence, but for the whole team. Although I was able to complete the Dakar, we lost a fair few points, so to get things back on track here, gives us a big boost as we fight for back-to-back championships, which is the ultimate goal this season.”

It was a double podium for Monster Energy Honda HRC with Schareina leading the Big Red squad at Rally-Raid Portugal 2026: “I’m really happy with my riding,” said Schareina, “it was a really good battle with Daniel to the end. We did everything we could on this last stage and I’m happy for second, happy for the team, we did a really good job. Now we will focus on Argentina.”

Van Beveren found redemption after ending the the 2025 race with a trip to Portuguese hospital after a crash. “I’m really happy to finish on the podium in Portugal. Six months ago I finished this race over a cliff and in the hospital, so I’m really happy to be back on the podium. I’ve enjoyed my riding here a lot, it’s always a special race because it’s really technical. Today was good, again in third. Daniel and Tosha were fast but we were in the fight. I can’t wait for Argentina now.”

2026 Rally-Raid Portugal Final Stage Results:

RallyGP overall after final stage:

Rally2 overall after final stage:

Photo Credit: A.S.O. Edo Photo