Sam Sunderland (born 15 April 1989 in

Poole Poole () is a large coastal town and seaport in Dorset, on the south coast of England. The town is east of Dorchester and adjoins Bournemouth to the east. Since 1 April 2019, the local authority is Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Counc ...

) is a Dubai-based British rally raid motorcycle rider, best known for his participation in the Dakar Rally, which he won in

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

and

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

Career

Sunderland made his Dakar debut in

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

, riding a Honda, after winning the UAE National Baja Championship in 2010 and 2011. 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. Riding for the factory Honda team in

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

, Sunderland became the first British rider to win a stage of the Dakar since John Deacon in

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

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. 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". In

2018 Dakar Rally The 2018 Dakar Rally was the 40th edition of the event and the tenth successive year that the event was in South America. The event started in Lima, Peru on 6 January and ran through Argentina and Bolivia, finishing in Córdoba, Argentina on 20 Ja ...

Sam won stages 1 and 3 before crashing out in stage 4.

2019 Dakar Rally The 2019 Dakar Rally was the 41st edition of the event and the eleventh successive year that the event was held in South America. The event started in Lima, Peru on 6 January and finished there on 17 January after 10 stages of competition. Qatari ...

saw Sam winning stages 5 and 7, and finishing 3rd overall. In

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

edition in Saudi Arabia Sam crashed out with an injury in stage 5.

Career results

Dakar Rally

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sunderland, Sam 1989 births Dakar Rally motorcyclists Dakar Rally winning drivers English motorcycle racers Living people Off-road motorcycle racers Segrave Trophy recipients