Sam
Sunderland
United Kingdom
·
Rally Raid
Date of birth | 15 April 1989 |
|---|---|
Place of birth | Southampton, UK |
Age | 37 |
Nationality | United Kingdom |
Career start | 2012 |
Discipline | Rally Raid Bike |
Having shredded the tracks and trails of the British motocross scene since he was seven years old, Sam Sunderland has become a true international star, garnering a reputation as a fast and accomplished desert rider. His first major victories came in 2011, when he won two stages of the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge and three others in the Australasian Safari.
Sam's inaugural Dakar outing was on New Year's Day, 2012 – at just 22 years old, he took an impressive seventh-place finish on stage one of the event, but his dreams of a Dakar title were shattered when an electrical fault forced him to retire during day two.
Instead of dwelling on the disappointment, Sam focused on the positives: he had not only finished in the top ten during his first Dakar outing, but was just three minutes off the pace of the leaders when he retired. Having finished 13th overall in the 2012 Sardinia Rally (second in class), Sam went on to take a podium position at the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, after leading the field for five days. He also played a lead role in TEAM HRC's stellar 2013 season, when he took the win at the Merzouga Rally in Morocco, virtually unchallenged.
After a promising start in the 2014 Dakar, with a notable win on Stage 2, Sam was forced to withdraw during Stage 4 of the rally due to mechanical problems. This kind of talent did not go unnoticed and soon he became part of the KTM family, getting great results in the World Rally Championship.
At the 2015 Dakar he won the first stage in Argentina but on stage 4 a heavy fall meant he was unable to continue. He was soon back and flying though and in October he was busy winning the OiLibya Morocco Rally. However, another heavy crash, this time at the Merzouga Rally in Morocco, saw Sam suffer a fractured femur that would keep him out of the 2016 Dakar.
However, the ambitious rider was undeterred despite the setbacks, and in 2017 returned to the Dakar with a win firmly in his sights. He maintained that focus throughout, despite adverse weather and stage cancellations, and managed to take his first title with his first ever Dakar finish, becoming the first British Dakar champion in the process. "It's overwhelming," he commented after finishing the final stage. "When I crossed the line, the emotion really took over. It's been difficult to stay calm, especially when making navigation mistakes, but we're here, we did it, and I couldn't be any happier. Hopefully we can create some English interest now!"
Sunderland ran into more bad luck during the 2018 edition of the Dakar when he was forced to retire from the event due to injury. He was airlifted from the Peruvian desert four stages into the defence of his title and was later told he had sustained damaged to his spine.
"I didn't have a big crash as such," he said. "I was going quite fast and squatted into a heavy compression, bottoming out in the seat with the pressure going up through my back. It was only when I started to lose the feeling in my legs after continuing for another 5-10km that I didn't really have much choice to carry on."
Sunderland went on to make a complete recovery, winning two stages at the 2019 edition of the Dakar Rally and finishing third overall. One year later he would be forced to retire due to injury after crashing out during the fifth stage, but in 2021 he once again returned to the podium, securing third place.
For the 2022 edition of the Dakar, Sunderland raced for GasGas Factory Racing onboard their RC 450F bike and once again became champion. In doing so, he handed GasGas their maiden Dakar victory and became the first biker to win with different colours since the legendary Richard Sainct.
Sunderland continued his excellent start to the year, charging to victory at the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge and making it two wins from two in the 2022 FIM World Rally-Raid Championship.
His 2023 Dakar Rally campaign ended in disappointment, however, when he crashed out of the event during Stage 1. And there was more frustration in 2024 as Sunderland was once again unable to finish.
In a surprising turn of events, two-time Dakar Rally motorcycle champion Sunderland takes to four wheels for the 2025 Dakar Rally as a co-driver for Toby Price. The pair join a long list of bike competitors who have made the switch to the car category on the Dakar Rally.
In 2025 Sam signed to Triumph Motorcycles as an official Brand Ambassador, to help develop and facilitate new adventure and off-road projects.