It was an challenging weekend for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Daniel Sanders at the Portugal EnduroGP, who collected a pair of 13th place results in E2 category over the two-day event.

Sanders explained post-race that he was still experiencing soreness from a heavy crash that he suffered at the Hattah Desert Race in Victoria two weeks ago, where he still managed to hold onto the runner-up position.

In what was already an enduring round for the Australian, a mechanical issue in the opening stages of day one combined with his unfavoured formats that Portugal hosted, added to his frustrating results.

“I got through this weekend okay, but it wasn’t what I was hoping for,” Sanders commented. “I arrived in Portugal still nursing a sore head after a crash at a desert race back home in Australia. Unfortunately, a mistake early on day one caused damage to my clutch, which put me on the back foot from the off.

“I didn’t really take to the tests here in Portugal – I feel I’m better suited to the tougher style of enduro tests – this was too fast, too straightforward. We’ll work hard and see what the next round brings.”

The Victorian has two months to reset and recover from his injuries, with the next stop on the EnduroGP calendar scheduled for 23-24 September, in the United Kingdom.